GOLD COAST, Australia – On January 8, when Jai Opetaia won his first fight of 2025 by stopping in four rounds David Nyika, Huseyin Cinkara was instead supposed to be on the other side of the ring.
Injury had ruled Cinkara out in mid-December, forcing him to watch from afar as the aggressive Nyika enhanced his reputation in defeat.
Claudio Squeo was then installed as Opetaia’s challenger in June as the IBF cruiserweight champion remained active while waiting for the unification contests he is seeking with Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez and Badou Jack to fall into place. Cinkara, 40 years old, also attempted to stay busy by in April stopping in one round Juan Diaz. Crucially, he was adamant that his chance to challenge the world’s leading cruiserweight would come.
When the Turkish German again became Opetaia’s mandatory challenger he rejected step-aside money from Opetaia’s promoters Tasman Fighters, who intended on pursuing higher-profile opponents for higher-profile fights. The new date of November 2 also came to little, but almost a year after watching Nyika fall to Australia’s Opetaia, in his 24th professional contest, the undefeated Cinkara’s chance has come.
“This is my destiny,” he told BoxingScene. “It’s what I believe. Money can’t buy – money comes second after this. This is what I’ve been training for my whole life. Money will not get in the way of what I’m supposed to fulfil. I’m not saying I’m gonna win. I’m just saying that I’m gonna try my hardest and try and work for the goal that I’ve been destined for.
“I’m ready to rewrite history. I don’t care about the money – I’m here to let the whole world know my name. I’m rewriting history – to me, that’s the most important [thing].
“I wasn’t told exactly what it was [they wanted me to step aside for]. But my destiny is to fight – I’m not stepping aside. That’s how it works.
“Everyone was saying, ‘Look, mate, you’ve missed out on the opportunity’. Myself and my trainer – we always believed. I knew that God would make sure we got this fight; myself and my trainer always knew this was going to happen.
“I was not disappointed [watching Opetaia-Nyika]. I was not upset. I knew it was going to come, and I always kept working.
“It is what it is. I never thought ‘This should have been me’. I never thought about ‘Why isn’t it me?’. I just watched the fight.
“I knew what Jai was going to do, and it was just really good to see these two do what they did. I’m exactly the same – I’m bringing the same game to this fight. I’m gonna bring the same.”
The build-up to Saturday’s fight at the Gold Coast Convention Centre has surrounded the reality that Opetaia, as Australia’s leading fighter, is becoming one of his country’s most celebrated athletes.
Cinkara – and he insists that he is not attempting to promote their fight – insists that Opetaia is superior to Jack and Ramirez. Opetaia’s shadow has been too much for he or anyone else to escape throughout fight week, but there unquestionably exists between them a noticeable mutual respect, perhaps owing, in part from Opetaia, to the reality that Opetaia feels that Ramirez and Jack are evading him and depriving him of his defining fights, and that Cinkara has been determined to fight him for as long as he has.
Before they joined the stage at Friday afternoon’s ceremonial weigh-in – Opetaia was 198.83lbs; Cinkara 199lbs – they stood close to each other while the undercard fighters gradually faced off, such was their relative comfort in each other’s presence and the minimal tension that exists between them. Saturday’s fight is business, not personal. They are both in town, regardless of who they are fighting, to win.
“I don’t ever think about if I’ve been overlooked or if I’m seen as too easy or going to be beaten easy,” Cinkara explained. “On the other hand, I don’t believe Jai’s a superstar – I don’t think about it. I could have taken an easier road to a world title. I took the hardest road I can find, and that’s the way I wanna make my name in history.
“There was some options on the table for other fights. It doesn’t matter which sanctioning body it was – I got offered different fights. I saw that Jai’s the hardest fight. I want the hardest route, because I want to put my name in history, and if I lose, then at least I tried to fulfil my destiny.
“Technically, his attack is relentless. He’s a very good fighter. He’s a very good fighter, and he brings a great fight. He ticks all the boxes.
“There are weaknesses – we’ve been working on some stuff. But he’s a southpaw – that works as a strength and works as a weakness sometimes. We can’t overlook anything – we’re just kind of ready for that opportunity. We have a game plan and I don’t want to say too much. He’s obviously got the ability [to move up to heavyweight] but it’s all about the weight he carries.
“From the moment I’ve been here he’s showed me nothing but respect. I respect him in the ring; I respected him when I watched him. We’re ready for war – a true soldier has respect and has rules and we’re respectful of each other and both of us are ready to go to war, so I’ve got respect for who he is and what he’s achieved.
“We’re both high-character fighters and we’re going to bring this fight. No matter what happens one of us will goes down; one of us wins; one of us loses; we’re gonna leave with a lot of character between the two of us, and we’re ready to go to war.”
