How Aussie world champ Jai Opetaia called his shot with the most powerful man in boxing
A few years ago, Jai Opetaia was struggling to make ends meet. Now he has the most powerful — and wealthiest — man in boxing backing him to be the undisputed world champion.
After spending years trying and failing to lock in the blockbuster world title fights he always dreamt of, Jai Opetaia took matters into his own hands last month in a one-on-one meeting with boxing heavy hitter Turki Alalshikh in Las Vegas.
The chairman of the powerful General Entertainment Authority in Saudi Arabia, Alalshikh is the mastermind behind some of the biggest boxing events of the past five years, including heavyweight showdowns featuring Tyson Fury, Oleksandr Usyk and Anthony Joshua.
He also has ties to football, and last month was even tied to talks to buy Bristol City.
Australia’s only current male world champion, Opetaia has become one of Alalshikh’s favourite boxers, and he has now given the Gold Coast-based fighter the blueprint to becoming undisputed cruiserweight world champion.
The fateful meeting took place just days before the biggest fight of 2025, and in one of the ritziest hotels in Las Vegas.
So flash that Opetaia — no stranger to Sin City — had never even heard of it.
“He asked me for a meeting when I was over there for Canelo vs Crawford, so I just went to see him by myself,” Opetaia told Code Sports.
“He was staying at this fancy place, man, and when he told me where he was, I had no clue where it was.
“I just jumped in a taxi and said, ‘Take me here’.
“They met me down in the lobby and took me upstairs.
“Bro, this guy had his own floor, with security at the doors. It was insane.
“I couldn’t believe I was even in this room, but it’s where I belong. I belong in those meetings and I should be having these conversations.”
Opetaia has come a long way from the days of scraping together money as he toiled away on his rise to the top of the boxing world.
It was at that meeting that Opetaia — who defends puts his IBF world title on the line in a mandatory defence against Huseyin Cinkara on the Gold Coast on December 6 – was given the path to undisputed.
“I went there by myself, sat down and told him what I wanted to do and he gave me this little game plan,” the Aussie said.
“We’ll get this mandatory out of the way, then we’re gonna fight (WBC champion) Badou Jack and after that (WBA and WBO titleholder) Gilberto Ramirez.
“He was even talking about (light-heavyweight monster) David Benavidez fight up at cruiserweight after we unify.
“It’s good to have that little goal, and I’ve just been knuckling down ever since.
“I’ve taken things into my own hands, trying to get these things over the line myself. I was chasing my tail for a while there.”
Opetaia has messaged WBC titleholder Jack, who is keen for a fight.
Meanwhile, Alalshikh flexed his muscles by contacting Ramirez during his meeting with Opetaia.
“He actually reached out to Ramirez’s team on the spot,” he said.
“He needed some time to recover, so they said it’ll be Badou Jack first, then ‘Zurdo’.
“It’s all been said, it’s all been done. I’ve spoken to them. So, the only reason these fights won’t happen is if they’re a bunch of pussies.
“That’s the only reason. I’ve done all the work, I’ve sat down with Turki Alalshikh, he said he wants it to happen.
“So the only reason it won’t happen is if they’re scared to fight me.”
Opetaia says his ultimate dream is to unify against Jack early next year before winning the last of the four major world titles in his home town.
“If Australia gets behind it enough, I’d love to bring that last unification bout to Australia,” he said. “Central Coast Stadium, I’ve been pushing that ever since I turned professional.
“To be able to take a world title fight there is a dream, but at the end of the day, it’s hard enough to get these fights across the line.
“If they call me and say ‘Let’s fight in the backyard’ I’m done.”
His cruiserweight plans mean that talk about a move to heavyweight are well and truly on the backburner.
“People were trying to force me to move to heavyweight early and stuff like that,” he said. “They’re trying to derail it.
“But I’ve always said I wanted to become undisputed at cruiserweight.
“So that’s why I’ve just been taking things into my own hands to make sure these things happen.
“It feels like we’re getting closer, we’re moving in the right direction and it feels good just doing it myself.”
To join the conversation, please log in. Don't have an account? Register
Join the conversation, you are commenting as Logout