Comments Thread For: Jai Opetaia Faces Being Stripped Of IBF Title Ahead Of Planned Fight Versus Ellis Zorro

[ShoulderRoll]

But still he still put Opetaia in a spot to make a big payday. I think that is been proactive and smart.
Money is the main goal for Opetaia in this particular situation and they jumped on the opportunity that presented itself and that is been capitalist.

I understand him getting paid. Nothing wrong with that.

But as the IBF champion Opetaia has to operate by the IBF rules. He can’t just fight another voluntary who isn’t even in the IBF rankings. They are right to strip him for this…they stick to their rules which is what I admire about them. If it was any other alphabet org they would have found some bullsh1t way to weasel their way into making an exception to the rules in order to get a cut of his payday.

Eddie Hearn should have tried to get Breidis as the opponent.

[drablj]

How has Briedis earned a mandatory shot?

a couple of guys declined a fight with jai and were rightfully demoted. it's the main reason why we sometimes get a lesser quality ibf mandatory challenger or champion. that made mairis the highest ranked contender.
opetaia should just proceed with this scheduled fight for a good purse and exposure. he already defeated mairis with a broken jaw and being 38 briedis is not getting any better. this is not a duck at all and nobody should criticize opetaia. noel mikaelyan was robbed against briedis in wbss 2. opetaia should target him or billam smith next year.

[kiaba360]

I understand him getting paid. Nothing wrong with that.

But as the IBF champion Opetaia has to operate by the IBF rules. He can’t just fight another voluntary who isn’t even in the IBF rankings. They are right to strip him for this…they stick to their rules which is what I admire about them. If it was any other alphabet org they would have found some bullsh1t way to weasel their way into making an exception to the rules in order to get a cut of his payday.

Eddie Hearn should have tried to get Breidis as the opponent.

Legitimate question: why is Briedis a mandatory? How did the IBF reach that decision, what regulation or paragraph are they using to rationalize this? There wasn't anything extraordinary about his IBF reign for him to gain such favor: He beat Dorticos (who won it in a vacant title fight against Tabiti), then defended it against Mann, and then lost to Opetaia. He made one successful defense, so why treat him like royalty? He's also been inactive. Opetaia should be fighting an IBF contender, but so should Briedis instead of being made mandatory.

This shxt makes no sense. So if/when Opetaia is stripped, is Briedis just gonna get the title....or is he gonna have to actually FIGHT for it?

[ShoulderRoll]

Legitimate question: why is Briedis a mandatory? How did the IBF reach that decision, what regulation or paragraph are they using to rationalize this? There wasn't anything extraordinary about his IBF reign for him to gain such favor: He beat Dorticos (who won it in a vacant title fight against Tabiti), then defended it against Mann, and then lost to Opetaia. He made one successful defense, so why treat him like royalty? He's also been inactive. Opetaia should be fighting an IBF contender, but so should Briedis instead of being made mandatory.

This shxt makes no sense. So if/when Opetaia is stripped, is Briedis just gonna get the title....or is he gonna have to actually FIGHT for it?

I haven’t followed the movement in the IBF cruiserweight rankings very closely to be honest. But Breidis must be the highest ranked IBF contender willing to challenge for the title, that’s how they typically do it.

[Robi13]

The IBF been power trippin lately, the phuck got into them?

[Clegg]

Legitimate question: why is Briedis a mandatory? How did the IBF reach that decision, what regulation or paragraph are they using to rationalize this? There wasn't anything extraordinary about his IBF reign for him to gain such favor: He beat Dorticos (who won it in a vacant title fight against Tabiti), then defended it against Mann, and then lost to Opetaia. He made one successful defense, so why treat him like royalty? He's also been inactive. Opetaia should be fighting an IBF contender, but so should Briedis instead of being made mandatory.

This shxt makes no sense. So if/when Opetaia is stripped, is Briedis just gonna get the title....or is he gonna have to actually FIGHT for it?

From what I recall, Masternak and Riakporhe were both ahead of Briedis in the rankings, but both declined the mandatory chance.

[kiaba360]

From what I recall, Masternak and Riakporhe were both ahead of Briedis in the rankings, but both declined the mandatory chance.

If true....then they definitely got punished. Masternak is no longer on the rankings, and Riakporhe got bumped down all the way to 13. How can boxers get demoted that far down?

[kiaba360]

I haven’t followed the movement in the IBF cruiserweight rankings very closely to be honest. But Breidis must be the highest ranked IBF contender willing to challenge for the title, that’s how they typically do it.

Paragraph 9 of their Ratings Criteria:
"For a boxer to be rated in the number one (1) or number (2) position, he must be rated in one of the top five (5) available positions and beat another boxer rated in one of the top five (5) available positions."

There is no #1 or #2 right now. Currently, Briedis is #3, Ramirez is #4 and Rozicki is #5. Why doesn't Briedis have to fight one of them for a title shot? Even if they ducked Briedis, I still dislike the idea of a fighter getting a mandatory shot while essentially doing NOTHING to earn it. If they don't fight him, then IBF needs to find a contender who will.

The IBF is not to be idolized or admired. They behave inconsistently just like every other org. It's rules like #13 that allow them to: "All ratings criteria are subject to exception by the Ratings Committee."

The IBF is letting Hrgovic fight a non-ranked IBF contender on the SAME card, but they take issue with Opetaia doing it. Does the IBF not keep in close communication with fighters?

[drablj]

If true....then they definitely got punished. Masternak is no longer on the rankings, and Riakporhe got bumped down all the way to 13. How can boxers get demoted that far down?

that's standard procedure. if you decline a title shot or an eliminator (which should be boxer's #1 goal), you are out of the top 10 for at least 6 months. masternak accepted wbo title fight. that's why he's out of the rankings completely.

hrgovic is not a champion and their champion has a fight scheduled with ibf's blessing. his title shot is NOT ORDERED. when a fight is ordered (like jai - mairis 2), there is no way out.

[Combat Talk Radio]

...now wait a minute.

NSB said that IBF was singling out Crawford for not fighting mandatories.

Some of you need to understand - IBF is doing their job, and they're the only ones right now. This is how it should be - fight your damn mandos unless you're unifying the division, or just vacate and let others fight.