JAI OPETAIA has been stripped of his IBF world title for the second time in his career.
The Aussie, 30, had openly discussed his “dream” of becoming the undisputed champion of the cruiserweight division.
But his hopes of doing so have now been dashed despite a gleaming 30-0 record.
Opetaia riled up the IBF by facing Brandon Glanton in an unsanctioned fight earlier this month.
The bout was Opetaia’s debut with Zuffa Boxing, having become the first reigning champion to sign with the promotion in January.
Zuffa boss Dana White has openly said that the company will not work with boxing‘s established governing bodies.
There were also issues with the Zuffa Boxing cruiserweight title won by Opetaia – which the IBF refuses to recognise.
The IBF withdrew their sanction less than 48 hours before the event, which went ahead anyway.
And after IBF directors discussed the issue via teleconference on March 19, Opetaia was informed on Monday about their decision to strip him of his belt.
It will be a crushing blow for the Sydney fighter, who also lost his strap in 2023 after fighting Ellis Zorro instead of mandatory challenger Mairis Briedis.
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Opetaia won back the belt by beating Breidis five months later, but he now faces an uphill to unify the cruiserweight division.
He told SunSport earlier this month: “We’re chasing undisputed. This is my dream.
“Look at the last couple of undisputed fighters. You’ve got [Terence] Crawford, you’ve got [Oleksandr] Usyk, legends of the sport. I want my name up there like that.”
On murmurs that the IBF issued him an ultimatum before his Zuffa debut, Opetaia ranted: “False!
“People just want to make out like they know [what’s going on] so everyone f***ing clicks on their thing.
“They don’t know s**t, bro! They honestly do not know s**t. That is a fully made-up f***ing scenario.”
