Australian boxing superstar Jai Opetaia has voiced his frustration towards American three-division champion David Benavidez, claiming the undisputed cruiserweight king is making unreasonable demands as he continues to duck a high-profile fight with the New South Welshman.
The undefeated Opetaia (30-0, 23 KOs) will defend his Ring Magazine and Zuffa cruiserweight belts against WBC world champion Noel Mikaelian (28-3, 12 KOs) in Las Vegas this weekend on a card headlined by Ryan Garcia and Conor Benn (available to watch on Disney+ in New Zealand). And while it's another major test for the Central Coast product, boxing fans are already letting their minds skip ahead to a potential blockbuster fight against Benavidez, not that such a bout is any closer to coming to fruition.
"He's making all these demands and s---," Opetaia told ESPN on the eve of his clash against Mikaelian. "He's now saying he wants to fight in May on [Cinco de Mayo]. Well, why can't we fight in Australia on Australia Day? Why can't we fight on Samoan Independence Day?
"We've never given any pushback. We've never ever done that. They say [to us] 'fight him at this time' and we say 'okay'. That's as simple as it is for me. I don't know what all of this is about. Just call me and I'll be there. Just give me the date and I'll be there."
The back-and-forth with Benavidez is just the latest frustration for 31-year-old Opetaia, who is also currently in the midst of an ongoing legal battle against the IBF.
The boxing organisation stripped him of his cruiserweight title earlier in the year due to claims his inaugural Zuffa Boxing appearance against Brandon Glanton at the Meta APEX in March wasn't sanctioned by the governing body. In the lawsuit, filed by Opetaia on July 14 in a Nevada federal court, he and his team claim that the IBF violated the 2000 Muhammad Ali Reform Act and that the IBF conspired with boxing's other sanctioning bodies to harm Opetaia financially by stripping him of his title.
Opetaia and his team also argue the bout against Glanton was only ceremonial in nature, not an attempt to circumvent title sanctioning by the IBF or any of professional boxing's three other sanctioning bodies. It asserts that the IBF raised no objections in the days before the event but nevertheless was upset by title-like promotion surrounding the fight.
"It's another day in the office for us," says Opetaia. "I've never walked into a fight without something happening. There's always something. But there's no point kicking and screaming about it. Us boxers we know the sport we're in. Sometimes it can work in your favour, but f---, if it was easy everyone would be an undisputed champion, wouldn't they?
"From where I sit, I just try to focus on doing my best. I've got a job to do and that's beat Noel. If I do that then I'll focus on the next mission."
For Opetaia, that next mission will hopefully be a date with Benavidez.
"I do feel the best is yet to come," said Opetaia. "Next 12 months, we win this fight and then we fight for the WBC. I get my IBF back and then we fight Benavidez at the end of the year. We'll obviously have to take a different route to get there but I'm still confident my dream will come true as an undisputed cruiserweight world champion."
