Jai Opetaia said that he ‘fought like s–t’ against Huseyin Cinkara on Australia’s Gold Coast, though the eighth round stoppage is what fans will remember.
The IBF World Cruiserweight champion overcame an early scare against the 40-year-old from Germany, who entered the ropes undefeated but unprepared at the top level.
Opetaia — now undefeated in 29 — managed to channel his frustrations with his own performance into something special come the eight round, landing a left hand that took the challenger’s legs away and saw him collapse into the ropes.
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Post-fight, the 30-year-old champion was his own harshest critic.
“I feel like I just fought like s–t, to be honest. You get these nights. We go back to the drawing board. I’m very disappointed in myself, I feel like I’ve let some people down with that performance. I made a lot of mistakes. I’m so pissed off.”
Looking ahead, he reiterated his desire to secure more belts at 200lbs.
“We want the unification fights. We want Ramirez. I’ve been asking for them for a long time. F—ing watch this space.”
WBA and WBO champion Gilberto Ramirez is a man in high demand. He is expected to defend his belts against Robin Safar in January before going into a pre-announced clash with current WBC light-heavyweight champ, David Benavidez.
With a unification against WBC 200lbs titlist Badou Jack unlikely for Opetaia, his frustrations outside of the ring look to continue. However, if ‘Zurdo’ and Benavidez do face off and the latter manages to secure a title in another weight class, fans may be in store for an out-of-the-blue fire fight.