GOLD COAST, Australia – Jai Opetaia described himself as having become “complacent” after criticising his performance against Huseyin Cinkara despite so emphatically winning inside eight rounds.
At the Gold Coast Convention Centre he produced another of the knockouts of 2025 to leave his Turkish German challenger requiring medical attention while motionless on his back in the ring.
After recovering consciousness Cinkara was taken to hospital and diagnosed with a fracture in his neck. Before he had left, however, Opetaia said from the ring that he was “pissed off” with his performance. His face was unexpectedly marked up, and it has since been revealed that he has suffered a suspected fractured eye socket that is likely to delay his plans to fight again early in 2026.
“I was terrible,” the 30 year old told BoxingScene. “I feel like I can fight a lot better. I feel like I needed it, you know what I mean? I needed it. A lot of room for improvement.
“I needed that – I feel like I needed to be humbled a bit. I was getting a bit complacent and it showed in the ring. I feel like I trained hard, but my body – my legs were just shot, to be honest. But it’s good – it’s good learning. I shouldn’t be getting hit that much from someone like that, you know what I mean?
“I should have been boxing a lot better; moving a lot smoother; I should have been on my toes a lot more. Just a few things in my camp, and now we know how to fix it.”
The Australian was then asked how much his struggles owed to his 40-year-old opponent fading. His legs buckled in the second round when he was caught by a strong right hand, but Cinkara quickly tired as a consequence of his body punching and the high pace Opetaia was setting, contributing to his hesitancy and his ambition swiftly draining.
“It’s before that,” the champion responded. “It’s from the start. It was from the start – I just made it hard for myself, because I was making too many mistakes, but it is what it is. I know what I was doing wrong, you know – it’s not like… I know what I need to fix. I’m excited to get back in the gym. I’m excited to get back on my toes and move better. These power punches – I was just trying to take his head off.
“Footwork. Distance. We just – wait and see, man. I’m telling you – I’m gonna come back better, I’m telling you. I promise you.
“He got me with a good shot. But I recovered pretty quick, you know what I mean? I was fit. Just, my body wasn’t keeping up with me. My legs were just gone for some reason. They were cramping up and shit. Fuck, I hate this – I hate these excuses and shit.
“Don’t worry – we’ll move forward, and it’s gonna be alright. We got the win – that’s all that matters – and we move forward. I’m telling you – I’m gonna come back better.”
It was tempting, when listening to Opetaia speak, to conclude that the struggles he described owed partly to the recent unexpected death of his assistant trainer Keri Fiu.
Fiu suffered a heart attack during a training session with the heavyweight Justis Huni, whose rematch with Kiki Toa Leutele was later cancelled. His funeral came less than a month before fight night, and a lengthy and emotional tribute was paid to him before Opetaia – who spoke at his funeral – made his way to the ring.
“Maybe, bro, you know?” he responded when that was put to him. “It has been a fucking massive rollercoaster, you know? It’s been a huge up and down, the last couple weeks. But we got the win, and we improve.
“I’ve been through this before – I’ve been through all this stuff [Opetaia endured the death of a grandparent in 2022 in the weeks before his career-transforming victory over Mairis Breidis].
“I’m just – I’m honestly really excited to get back in the gym. Usually after a fight like this I would kick back and relax and earn my fun, but I honestly feel like I haven’t earned it yet. I haven’t earned my fun – that’s not a worthy performance.
“It was very emotional. Even walking out to that song, it was Keri’s favourite song. It was pretty emotional – I was trying to fight back tears while I was listening to it. But it’s time to improve, [and] learn from it.”
In addition to the small fracture in his neck Cinkara has suffered some bruising and been instructed to remain in hospital for two days as a precaution.
The reality remains that Opetaia has stopped all three of the challengers to his IBF title in 2025 to remain widely considered the world’s finest cruiserweight. The knockout of David Nyika in January was similarly destructive and therefore chilling but for Australia’s leading fighter that wasn’t enough.
“I’ve got a little injury here on my cheek,” he said. “We get this fixed. As soon as I can get back in the ring I’ll be back. I’m not looking at having a big break or anything like that.”
