If middleweight prospect Luke Turner reaches the same dizzying heights as his favorite fighter, he will have done very well.
Turner is a fan of Australian cruiserweight Jai Opetaia, the recent big-name signing for Zuffa Boxing, and the man seen by many as boxing’s best 200-pounder.
“I like Jai Opetaia,” said the Everton Red Triangle starlet. “I like what he’s been doing lately. I think so right now [he’s the world’s No. 1 cruiserweight], yeah.”
Opetaia holds the IBF belt. That is something Turner hopes he can emulate, of course, but as a 1-0 pro he knows the journey is long and potentially hazardous, having won his debut in October, when outpointing Costa Rican Jose Aguirre.
“The first milestone, I would like to win the British title, to be honest,” Turner said.
“It’d be nice to win the British. Obviously I believe I can be world champion and go all the way, but I do get there’s little checkpoints along the way.”
Turner is a full-time pro and he has a string of sponsors that allow him to focus on boxing.
He used to work in streetlighting, installing lampposts, early mornings out in the cold, and long days getting training in around work.
“It’s good to be able to put everything into my training and not have to worry about doing that,” he said. “I’d wake up at half-five [5:30 a.m.]; I’d have some breakfast; go to work. I’d start work at seven, finish at about half-three [3:30 p.m.], get home for half-four. And then I was straight out the house again at five o’clock to get to the gym for six. And then I was home and then I’d go out and do a run and then it was bed. It was hard, but you’ve got to push through to get to where you want to be.”
Often in boxing, being able to fight is not always enough. You have to be able to sell yourself. Turner gets that, and he wants to be active, too.
“I get that you’ve got to have something about you to get people talking about you and stuff, whether it’s showing your flair and stuff, the way you’re boxing or whether it’s knocking people out, there’s many different ways,” he said. “I do get that you’ve got to have something that sets you apart from the rest.”
That appeals to him, as does keeping busy through 2026, long before he can start to realise his long-term dreams of boxing in Las Vegas, Saudi Arabia, and on stages like Wembley Stadium.
“There’s loads of different places I’d like to tick off and fight at; Madison Square Garden, T-Mobile, Las Vegas,” he said. “I’d like to fight in Saudi as well. Definitely sell out Wembley in a big fight. That’s a big dream too. I’d love to do that. I believe that can happen. Conor Benn, Chris Eubank and stuff, it’s just the buzz and the atmosphere of the event and stuff, it’s something I want to do one day. [For now I’m] just trying to get as many fights in as I can and get my name out there. Get in some good performances and build some momentum.”
Tris Dixon covered his first amateur boxing fight in 1996. The former editor of Boxing News, he has written for a number of international publications and newspapers, including GQ and Men’s Health, and is a board member for the Ringside Charitable Trust and the Ring of Brotherhood. He has been a broadcaster for TNT Sports and hosts the popular “Boxing Life Stories” podcast. Dixon is a British Boxing Hall of Famer, an International Boxing Hall of Fame elector, a BWAA award winner, and is the author of five boxing books, including “Damage: The Untold Story of Brain Trauma in Boxing” (shortlisted for the William Hill Sportsbook of the Year), “Warrior: A Champion’s Search for His Identity” (shortlisted for the Sunday Times International Sportsbook of the Year) and “The Road to Nowhere: A Journey Through Boxing’s Wastelands.” You can reach him @trisdixon on X and Instagram.
