Jai Opetaia will head to the Gold Coast to make voluntary defense against Claudio Squeo.
IBF cruiserweight champion Jai Opetaia had been pushing for a unification fight against WBA/WBO titleholder Gilberto ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez, but much to his frustration he hasn’t been able to nail that down. ESPN now reports that Opetaia will make a stay-busy voluntary defense against Italian fighter Claudio Squeo on May 13.
While Opetaia says that he won’t be taking Squeo lightly despite the disappointment he feels, he doesn’t hide the fact that he thinks it’s a weak move from Ramirez’s side although he still intends to pursue that fight.
“It’s bull—-. The best should be fighting the best,” Opetaia told DAZN after his Squeo bout was confirmed. “I’ve got two belts, he (Ramirez) has got two belts, I want to push for this fight…It just doesn’t make sense to me why it’s not getting over the line… the only reason to me would be he’s ducking.”
Opetaia would add that he can only do so much as he pushes to unify the division but it’s also clear that he’s not going to simply sit and wait around for the time to come. So, for now, Opetaia heads to the Gold Coast for this upcoming fight as he hopes to finally land the fight he’s been looking for later this year.
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