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Throughout his nearly four-year reign as lineal cruiserweight champion — and as a two-time IBF titleholder — Jai Opetaia has said time and again that his goal was to win all the major belts and become the undisputed champion.
But that prospect will end, at least for the foreseeable future, because when he enters the ring on Sunday night he will be stripped of the IBF title (for the second time) due to a last-minute change of course by the IBF.
Opetaia will still make his eighth lineal title defense and vie for the inaugural Zuffa Boxing title when he faces Brandon Glanton in the main event of Zuffa Boxing 04 (Paramount+, 5:30 p.m. ET) at the Meta Apex in Las Vegas, but he will do so sans the IBF belt, which is one of the belts presently needed to proclaim undisputed status.
Zuffa Boxing CEO Dana White has said time and again since the formation of the promotional company last year that he would not work with the sanctioning organizations while creating a Zuffa title for the company boxers to fight for.
However, when Zuffa signed Opetaia, the first world champion to join the company, in January, he did so with assurances that not only would he be permitted to defend the IBF belt but that he would be assisted in pursuing his dream to unify with the other titleholders.
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Zuffa Boxing even had WBC titleholder Noel Mikaelian as a guest at a recent card and had he and Opetaia face off with each other with the thought of matching them this summer.
Still, it had been unclear for weeks whether the IBF title would be on the line for the fight with Glanton. The IBF repeatedly declined to comment on the status of the title. Zuffa also would not address it.
All along, personnel from Opetaia co-promoter Tasman Fighters told Fight Freaks Unite he would be defending the title and in an interview with FFU on Feb. 23 Opetaia said, “To my knowledge and what I know is the IBF is on the line.”
When Opetaia (29-0, 23 KOs), a 30-year-old southpaw from Australia making his United States debut, and Glanton (21-3, 18 KOs), 33, of Atlanta, appeared at a pre-fight news conference on Friday night, Opetaia was once again asked if the IBF title would be at stake.
Opetaia, who was seated at the dais with the IBF belt, his Ring magazine title and the Zuffa belt on display, answered, “Yes, it will be. Don’t listen to everything you see on the internet because everyone’s spreading rumors. But I’m very grateful that the boys (at Zuffa Boxing) have been on board with my dream to become undisputed and unless everyone works together toward that dream I can’t accomplish that.”
Opetaia and Glanton then posed for photos. Opetaia held the IBF and Ring belts and Tom Loeffler of Zuffa Boxing held the Zuffa belt aloft.
All seemed well with regard to the IBF. According to Zuffa Boxing, it paid the IBF sanction fee on Thursday and had flown in IBF supervisor Levi Martinez first class from his home in New Mexico.
And then, shortly after the news conference, the IBF posted a statement on its website announcing it had withdrawn its sanction of the bout. A Zuffa Boxing representative told Fight Freaks Unite that Martinez then left.
“Opetaia’s team confirmed the fight would not be a unification and that any belt awarded by Zuffa would be ‘characterized as a trophy or token of recognition,’” the statement said. “The IBF has not had any discussion regarding this bout with any direct representative from Zuffa Boxing. However, the organization received assurances from Opetaia’s representatives that this would be the case. The IBF approved the bout under these conditions as the bout would no longer conflict with IBF Rule 5.E.2 which states in part, ‘For the purpose of unification of titles, the preeminent champions of the WBA, WBC and the WBO may be designated as ‘elite contenders’ and may be permitted to fight for the unified title.”
The IBF does not recognize the Zuffa title, although it has on numerous occasions allowed its title to be involved in fights in which belts from fringe organizations such as the IBO, IBA and WBF were also at stake.
Zuffa Boxing is a promoter, not a sanctioning body, and currently under the federal Muhammad Ali Reform Act, it is illegal for promoters to issue their own belts, compile their own rankings and manage fighters. That means that currently, the Zuffa Boxing title is a trophy belt.
That does figure to change in the near future due to the company’s lobbying efforts in Washington that have worked and seen an amended version of the Ali Act that would make it legal for promoters to create their own rankings and belts under a Unified Boxing Organization setup that currently is winding its way through Congress.
The legislation sailed through committee with overwhelming bipartisan support and is expected to soon be passed and signed into law by the president. It would give Zuffa Boxing a similar setup to its sister company, UFC, which White also runs.
“The press conference … made it clear that the Zuffa world cruiserweight title would still be contested on March 8,” the statement said. “The IBF reserves the right to sanction title bouts alongside other sanctioning bodies that comply with the same mandated regulations followed by the organization.
“With sanction withdrawn, the Opetaia vs. Glanton bout is now an Unsanctioned Contest. IBF Rule 5.H. states in part, ‘an Unsanctioned Contest is a fight which the IBF has not formally approved for sanction or where sanction has been formally withdrawn. If a champion participates in an unsanctioned contest within his prescribed weight limit, the title will be declared vacant whether the champion wins or loses the bout.’”
A source told Fight Freaks Unite that after the press conference, Peoples said in an email he was upset and disappointed that the IBF belt was positioned as secondary to the Zuffa belt at the media event — even though the IBF belt was prominently displayed in front of Opetaia the whole time.
“He said it was an embarrassment to the IBF,” the source, who had seen the email, said.
Jeff Mullen, the executive director of the Nevada State Athletic Commission, also became involved. The source said he spoke to Martinez about it, asking him why the IBF would do this, and that Peoples had not returned his calls.
Even with the belt poised to be stripped, a Zuffa Boxing spokesperson told Fight Freaks Unite that even though the IBF supervisor had left town that Opetaia and Glanton will take part in a Sunday morning weight check that is an IBF rule. Both made the 200-pound division limit at Saturday’s weigh-in and neither can weigh more than 214 at the weight check.
In the end the IBF still intends to strip Opetaia when he enters the ring. This will be the second time the IBF will strip him. It first happened in 2023 when he fought replacement Ellis Zorro instead of his mandatory opponent and former champion Mairis Briedis in a rematch, despite Briedis pulling out due to illness.
The weigh-in
Weights from Las Vegas for the Zuffa Boxing card on Sunday (Paramount+, 5:30 p.m. ET): Jai Opetaia 199.5 pounds, Brandon Glanton 200 (for Opetaia’s lineal cruiserweight title); Ricardo Salas 145.5, Jesus Saracho 146.5; Adan Palma 125.5, Pablo Rubio 125.5; Vlad Panin 146.5, Shinard Bunch 147; Joshua Juarez 258, Jardae Anderson 263; Jaycob Ramos 126, Ethan Perez 125.5; Brady Ochoa 134, Adrian Serrano 135; Emiliano Alvarado 125.5, Erick Rosado 124.5.
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Photos: Zuffa Boxing
As you always say, the IBF does whatever the IBF wants. Wonder if they will return the sanctioning fee.
As the most objective writer for boxing I would be interested in your thoughts regarding how this $hit soup we’re in with Zuffa and the four major belts will, and should sort out.
Thanks for being the best Dan.
“The IBF doesn’t recognize the Zuffa title.” Dan, I know the WBA is your scum of the scum, but the IBF is getting there. So disrespectful to such a great fighter and champion. The IBF’s pettiness makes clear why Zuffa exists in the first place.