According to The Ring’s Mike Coppinger, a fight between former WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wildern and Ring cruiserweight champ Jai Opetaia is being discussed.
That bout would serve as the co-feature before Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua headline a Ring show December 11 at Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Wales, streamed on Netflix.
Prior to Coppinger’s report Thursday during the premiere of the second season of “Inside The Ring,” both fighters were linked to other combatants.
Wilder (45-4-1, 43 KOs) was in talks to face Ring heavyweight titleholder Oleksandr Usyk, which broke down. As for Opetaia, he appeared to be on a collision course with WBA and WBO cruiserweight champion David Benavidez.
The Ring champion Opetaia (31-0, 24 KOs) and Benavidez (32-0, 26 KOs), The Ring’s No. 1 contender, stood nose-to-nose after the Australian stopped Noel Mikaelian in the ninth round on the Ryan Garcia-Conor Benn undercard September 12.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7-4wwBUwqY
The Phoenix native promised Opetaia that he would fight him after taking on Michal Cieslak, the division’s WBC champion, on December 12. Benavidez wants his bout against Opetaia to take place in May 2027, on Cinco De Mayo weekend, in Las Vegas.
Opetaia, while interested, previously told The Ring’s CEO, Rick Reeno, on the “Mr. Verzace Podcast” that he would like to remain active in the interim instead of waiting for Benavidez.
Wilder, of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, found his winning form lately.
After losing four of five fights from February 2020 until June 2024, including three by stoppage and two to Fury, he has won two straight. In his last outing, he won a narrow split decision over Derek Chisora on April 4.
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