Opetaia vs Zorro: Cruiserweight king set for another Brit stoppage

While the Day of Reckoning pay-per-view in Saudi Arabia this Saturday is stacked with big name heavyweights, fans will also get a chance to see the best cruiserweight on the planet in action. Jai Opetaia takes on Kent’s unbeaten Ellis Zorro with The Ring cruiserweight championship on the line.

It had been thought that Opetaia would defend the IBF cruiserweight title in Riyadh, but the sanctioning body refused to sanction the fight and stripped the champion. The situation was a curious one considering mandatory challenger Mairis Briedis is currently injured and was willing to fight the winner of Opetaia-Zorro on his return. But that’s sanctioning bodies for you.

Belt or no belt, Opetaia is the top man at cruiserweight. His 2022 win over Briedis for the IBF strap catapulted him to stardom. Only Oleksandr Usyk had previously defeated the Latvian star until Jai’s heroics. A true breakout performance, Opetaia followed it up by thrashing Jordan Thompson at Wembley Arena in September.

It is heartening to see one of the best fighters on the planet fight again with just a three-month turnaround. Nowadays, top fighters are a rarely-glimpsed novelty. But Opetaia is getting out there often. In Zorro he finds an unbeaten foil but one that is largely untested at this elevated level.

Zorro has won all 17 of his professional contests, but his CV lacks a name that makes you sit up and take notice. A seventh-round TKO of Hosea Burton is probably his best work, but he is yet to compete in world class. Opetaia is one hell of a first fight at the top level. But opportunities to fight the best in the world don’t come around every day and Zorro is seizing his with both hands.

For all his bravery, it is hard to see him stretching Opetaia. The Australian can dig, with 18 knockouts from 23 fights. Opetaia is also as tough as they come. Briedis broke Jai’s jaw in their 2022 title bout, but the southpaw saw it through and had his hand raised. 

Zorro himself does not have much in the way of power, having stopped just seven of his 17 opponents. If he is to take The Ring’s famous belt home, he’ll have to go the long way round. 36 draining minutes spent trying to avoid Opetaia’s heavy hands would need something akin to a miracle.

That’s why Opetaia is the smart pick in this one. Given his overwhelming status as the favourite, there isn’t much money to be made in picking him as the winner. But 23/10 for him to emulate the Thompson performance with a win between rounds four and six looks like a decent shout. Zorro is massively up against it in Riyadh and should be applauded for taking this on, but Opetaia is a step too far for the Kent man.