Jai Opetaia’s plans to unify the cruiserweight titles in 2026 have potentially been complicated by his IBF title defence on December 6 against Huseyin Cinkara being broadcast by the pay-per-view platform Stan.
The Australian, 30 years old and widely considered the world’s finest cruiserweight, fights for the third time in 2025 when at the Gold Coast Convention Centre in Australia’s Gold Coast he confronts the also-undefeated Cinkara, his mandatory challenger.
His stoppage victories in January and June over David Nyika and Claudio Squeo both featured on DAZN – the former was on DAZN pay-per-view in Australia and New Zealand – and while DAZN could yet broadcast the fight with Germany’s Cinkara in territories beyond his home country, there potentially exists a further barrier to overcome before a future fight with Gilberto Ramirez can be secured.
Opetaia-Ramirez, partly on account of it being for the IBF, WBA and WBO titles, represents the most appealing match-up in the cruiserweight division, but “Zurdo” Ramirez long being a Golden Boy Promotions fighter means that he has consistently fought on DAZN. Given that Opetaia's promoters Tasman Fighters expect their agreement with Stan to last a minimum of 12 months, it could yet prove challenging for the wider picture required for them to fight to be agreed. Tasman Fighters' Mick Francis was also previously resigned to the peak years of his leading fighter's career taking place beyond Australia; it ultimately remains unclear whether the association with Stan will change that in any way.
“Cinkara is a tough opponent in my mandatory, however he stands in my way on the road to being undisputed world cruiserweight champion,” Opetaia regardless said. “It’s great to end the year up at home on the Gold Coast, and I look forward to putting on a spectacular event again with Tasman Fighters on Stan Pay-Per-View. We will go to war on December 6.”
Significant for Tasman Fighters is the reality that Stan is owned by Nine Entertainment, Australia's biggest media organisation and the owner of the influential free-to-air platform Channel 9.
"I’m still pinching myself," said Francis. "It’s a deal that we needed and it’s a deal that Australian boxing needed.
"I’m really pleased to have Stan on board and can’t wait for the future.
"[The agreement is] over the next 12 months, but hopefully after the first four months we’ll look to extend a little bit longer. As I said before, this is an opportunity that our fighters get to fight on a big platform; a domestic platform; a platform that everyone’s aware of and knows about. With Channel 9's backing, our fighters are getting the opportunity now to fight and be promoted the way they should be promoted.
"Jai Opetaia, on the back of his fight, when he broke his jaw against Mairis Breidis the first time around [in victory in 2022], realistically should be a national hero. He wasn’t, because he hasn’t had the support that we need. We finally get the opportunity."
The 40-year-old Cinkara was to be Opetaia’s challenger in January until injury ruled him out and he was replaced by New Zealand’s Nyika in what proved so entertaining a shootout.
Nyika’s compatriot Kniki Toa Leutele has since been confirmed, in a rematch, as the heavyweight Justis Huni’s opponent on the occasion of Huni’s first fight since his first defeat – by England’s Fabio Wardley in June.
Opetaia’s co-promoters Matchroom have a promotion in Monte Carlo, led by the European junior-featherweight title fight between Englishmen Shabaz Masoud and Peter McGrail, on the same date as Opetaia-Ramirez. It will be shown by DAZN.
The WBC cruiserweight title fight between Badou Jack and his challenger Noel Mikaelian on December 13 is, incidentally, also on pay-per-view, via Amazon Prime.
