GOLD COAST, Australia -- When it comes to who holds the unofficial crown of Australia's best boxer, there's Jai Opetaia, and then there's everyone else playing catch up.
The undefeated 29-year-old bruiser from Wyong on the central coast of New South Wales has made a habit of battering those put before him over the past 36 months, collecting, and continually defending, both the IBF and The Ring world title straps in the cruiserweight division, in the process ascending to the top of ESPN's cruiserweight rankings. Now, the next logical step is a shot at rare unification.
Star Mexican Gilberto "Zurdo'' Ramirez holds the WBO and WBA belts in the fractured division, but a blockbuster fight between he and Opetaia is yet to be agreed upon, despite the ongoing push from the Australian and his camp. However, speculation continues to swirl they could feature on the undercard of the highly anticipated Canelo Alvarez vs. Terence Crawford mega fight this September in Las Vegas.
In the meantime, Opetaia (27-0, 21 KOs) will be putting his titles on the line this weekend in a 'stay-busy', voluntary defense against unheralded Claudio Squeo (17-0, 9 KOs) at the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre, a short drive from his training base in Broadbeach, Queensland.
"I'm chasing Zurdo. My eyes are locked on them (unification fights). The best should be fighting the best," Opetaia told DAZN in the lead up to his meeting with Squeo. "Now this guy's in the way and we've got to remove him. None of it matters unless I take care of business [against Squeo]."
The fight between Opetaia and Squeo was originally scheduled for May 13, but was forced to be postponed by three-and-a-half weeks to June 8 due to a "minor injury" sustained by the champion in the final stages of his training camp. Opetaia is now back to full fitness and ready to inflict more misery on his latest challenger, who has fought just once in the past 20 months and never outside of his native Italy.
"Guys like him, they have nothing to lose and everything to gain," Opetaia said of Squeo, moments after the pair faced off for the first time. "Up on stage, I could tell he was a bit nervous, but once that bell goes, man, those f---ing nervous dudes become dangerous.
"He's going to be fast, jittery, throwing bombs and trying to take my head off. And that's why I've been sparring a lot of short, dangerous dudes. I need to stay patient. I'm a f---ing world class fighter."
Opetaia's most recent fight was also at this venue on the Gold Coast. On Jan. 8 he made a statement with a dominant fourth-round knockout of highly credentialed New Zealander David Nyika, his fourth inside distance victory in his last five fights. The venue is also the scene where Opetaia first became a boxing world champion, scoring a gritty unanimous decision over Latvian star Mairis Briedis back in mid-2022.
In between those fights, the Australian southpaw crushed talented British pair Jordan Thompson and Ellis Zorro, won his rematch against Briedis, also by unanimous decision, and stopped Commonwealth cruiserweight title holder Jack Massey.
Should Opetaia add Squeo's name to his list of victims on Sunday evening, a cruiserweight unification bout in the back half of the year won't just be looking increasingly likely, but near impossible for Ramirez to avoid.