CARDIFF — Deontay Wilder has his next fight, and it comes with a twist. Wilder will face Jai Opetaia on the Dec. 11 Tyson Fury vs. Anthony Joshua card at Principality Stadium, with Opetaia stepping up to heavyweight for the first time. Turki Alalshikh announced the matchup Wednesday, and the card will stream live on Netflix.
Opetaia, the Ring and Zuffa Boxing cruiserweight champion, is undefeated and has built his career at 200 pounds. Now he takes on a former WBC heavyweight champion who has spent more than a decade as one of the most dangerous punchers in the sport. It is a big risk for Opetaia, and a big opportunity if he can pull it off in front of a global audience.
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The timing makes it even more interesting. On Sept. 12 at T-Mobile Arena, Opetaia stopped Noel Mikaelian in the ninth round on the Ryan Garcia vs. Conor Benn undercard, and David Benavidez climbed into the ring right after the finish. The two shook hands and agreed to fight on Cinco de Mayo weekend next year. When the Wilder talks first surfaced in October, The Ring reported that a heavyweight fight in Cardiff would not impact a potential showdown with Benavidez, who returns Dec. 5 against Cieslak in Glendale, Ariz.
The matchup took about a month to come together. The Ring’s Mike Coppinger first reported in early October that the fight was being explored, and Dana White, who promotes Opetaia, confirmed on his Instagram Wednesday morning that the fight was official.
Wilder vs. Opetaia joins a Netflix night that is already being billed as boxing’s biggest, with Fury and Joshua finally meeting in the main event.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: Sports.yahoo.com
