Opetaia vs Cinkara: Today is gonna be the Jai, but Cinkara won’t make it through

IBF, The Ring and lineal cruiserweight champion Jai Opetaia defends his crown this Saturday, December 6 against Huseyin Cinkara. The world title attraction takes place at the Gold Coast Convention Centre, Broadbeach, Australia. UFC Fight Pass will carry the fight live outside of Australia, while Stan Sports handle domestic distribution.

Read on for my Opetaia vs Cinkara predictions.

Opetaia vs Cinkara Odds

The champion Opetaia is way out in front, with odds of 1/80 at press time. Cinkara is priced at 14/1, or a 6.7% implied chance for all you stats fans. The draw is priced at 28/1.

Opetaia vs Cinkara Fight Preview

“This is the inherent problem with Opetaia. Fans love to watch him fight. He offers excitement every time. But the fights he takes are rarely inspiring. A unification with WBC kingpin Badou Jack or WBA/WBO holder Gilberto ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez would set the pulse racing. Our own Chris Billam-Smith, bravely outgunned by the latter in a wonderful fight, would be an interesting night’s work.”

These were my words before Opetaia squelched Claudio Squeo in five rounds back in June. Six months later and once again we are sat on the verge of another outing for boxing’s most unexciting, exciting fighter. 

It should be noted that the Australian gearing up to fight another no-name foe is not entirely Jai’s fault. The above-mentioned ‘Zurdo’ is nursing an injury while WBC boss Badou Jack faces mandatory challenger Noel Mikaelian in a week’s time.

But what of Billam-Smith, the British battler who lost his WBO gong to Ramirez before roaring back against Brandon Glanton? Or Michal Cieslak? The Polish tough who has seven consecutive knockouts since losing to Lawrence Okolie in a WBO challenge.

There is Britain’s unbeaten Viddal Riley, a game puncher who has ascended from social media fame to the cusp of true-blue world level. French puncher Leonardo Mosquea has a December 19 date set, but the unbeaten former European champion could surely have been convinced to take a title crack over a bout with the middling Jeison Troncoso?

The point is that there were superior options to 40-year-old German Cinkara. While composing a 23-0 record consisting of 19 knockouts, ‘Hurricane’ has never stuck his head above the regional parapet. A couple of minor belts here, a decent win over domestic name Armend Xhoxhaj there. But his ledger is mostly made up of eight-rounders and soft touches. 

Somehow, a man who has only had one eight-rounder in 2025 and that single Xhoxhaj win in 2024 is the mandatory challenger for Opetaia’s title. Not the Aussie’s fault of course. But in the past he did sacrifice that belt to defend The Ring and lineal honours against Ellis Zorro, before picking it up again in a unanimous decision over old rival Mairis Briedis. If Opetaia was serious about securing a big fight, surely he could have stepped over this uninspiring opponent.

A mandatory like this is acceptable in the midst of a searing run at the top of the division. But Opetaia’s last three fights have been routine knockouts of Squeo, David Nyika and Jack Massey. None of those men had fought for world titles before, let alone won one. Squeo had never fought a world level fighter, Nyika had barely fought at all at 10-0 while Massey was best known for brave defeats to Joseph Parker and Richard Riakporhe. 

With all due respect to Opetaia and his opponents, the only top-level boxer the Australian has faced during his three-year reign as The Ring and lineal champion is the man he won the title from; Mairis Briedis. One wonders if the fact the Latvian is the only man to take Opetaia the distance in seven world title fights is more than coincidental.

Opetaia’s supporters will point to the fact cruiserweight is currently a shallow division. There is some merit there. The likes of Riakporhe and Lawrence Okolie have moved up to heavyweight, the champions are all busy and the most talked about fighter in the division is Jake Paul, whose most recent win was a decision over 39-year-old Julio Cesar Chavez Jr, who was fighting 40 pounds heavier than his prime.

But Opetaia is not fighting the best of the rest. Billam-Smith, Cieslak and Riley would all have had more to offer here. One wonders if Opetaia’s rumoured showdown with Derek Chisora up at heavyweight would have been a better use of his time. Especially given the fact ‘Del Boy’ is still scouting around for an opponent after doubts have been cast over his third fight with Dillian Whyte.

But this is the fight we’ve got. The old faithful. The supremely talented and supernaturally powerful Jai Opetaia against another low-profile opponent he is expected to walk through. Great for the highlight reel, but less positive for the career of the 30-year-old. World title reigns are about more than numbers. This is Opetaia’s sixth title defence. Briedis is the only opponent in that run who was capable of winning. 

Opetaia vs Cinkara Full Card

Jai Opetaia vs Huseyin Cinkara

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Jason Moloney vs Herlan Gomez

Max McIntyre vs Jed Morris

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Teremoana Teremoana vs German Garcia Montes

Austin Aokuso vs Emmanuel Danso

Opetaia vs Cinkara Prediction

At the risk of setting myself up to fail and possibly writing the most motivational article Cinkara will ever read, I am going for an easy night for the champion. I think Opetaia brings this one to an end before round five. For that reason I’m picking our ‘When Will The Fight End?’ market, where a finish before round five is priced at 11/10.

You can find all our latest boxing betting tips and analysis at our Betfred Insights Boxing page and our latest boxing odds here.