Eddie Hearn, the promoter for Matchroom Boxing, remains focused on making a unification showdown happen for cruiserweight champion Jai Opetaia. This potential fight could significantly impact YouTube personality Jake Paul`s pursuit of a world title shot.
An exciting cruiserweight clash between Australia`s Opetaia and unified champion Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez has been long-discussed. With their respective fight schedules now appearing to align, this highly anticipated matchup seems increasingly likely to finally materialize.
Opetaia (27-0, 21 KOs) successfully defended his IBF and Ring Magazine titles in January. He stopped David Nyika in the fourth round after enjoying a competitive battle.
The hard-hitting champion plans to continue his dominant form when he steps into the ring against Claudio Squeo on June 8.
Opetaia is widely expected to win this upcoming bout against Squeo, an undefeated but largely unproven opponent. This fight is seen as a tune-up and preparation for the potential unification bout against Ramirez.
Meanwhile, Gilberto Ramirez (47-1, 30 KOs) is set to defend his WBA and WBO belts on June 28. He captured these titles in November by earning a comprehensive unanimous decision victory over Chris Billam-Smith.
The Mexican champion will face the experienced Yuniel Dorticos on the undercard of a planned event featuring Jake Paul. Interestingly, Ramirez`s promoter, Golden Boy boss Oscar De La Hoya, had previously hinted at a surprising potential matchup between Ramirez and Paul himself.
To potentially avoid such an unusual pairing involving Paul, Hearn appears confident in his ability to place Opetaia into a more significant fight against Ramirez.
However, for this eagerly awaited unification contest to become a reality, it is likely that substantial financial backing will be required. This funding would probably come from influential boxing figure Turki Alalshikh, who frequently finances major fights.
Hearn stated that Alalshikh recognizes the fight between Opetaia and Ramirez as the best potential matchup in the cruiserweight division.
He added that Alalshikh has invested in promoting Jai Opetaia, and “Zurdo” (Ramirez) has also participated in Riyadh Season events. Hearn believes that if both fighters win their upcoming bouts, a clash between them is the expected next step.
Hearn also mentioned the presence of WBC world champion Badou Jack in the division, expressing his strong desire to see Jai Opetaia unify all the titles and become the undisputed champion.
