{"id":480445,"date":"2025-10-02T00:35:46","date_gmt":"2025-10-02T00:35:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=480445"},"modified":"2025-11-20T01:21:08","modified_gmt":"2025-11-20T01:21:08","slug":"aussie-champ-locks-in-third-gold-coast-title-defence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=480445","title":{"rendered":"Aussie champ locks in third Gold Coast title defence"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jai Opetaia<\/a> (28-0), will defend his titles against the undefeated Huseyin Cinkara (23-0) on the Gold Coast on Saturday, December 6.<\/p>\n

While there has been talk of Opetaia unifying the division against\ufeff Mexico's Gilberto "Zurdo" Ramirez, the latter is injured and a potential match up has been touted for mid-next year.<\/p>\n

In the meantime, Opetaia must defend his belt\ufeff against Germany's Cinkara, who is the mandatory challenger to Opetaia's IBF cruiserweight title.<\/p>\n

'Ring of Fire': Opetaia vs Cinkara for the cruiserweight world titles on December 6 is available to order now on<\/strong><\/em> Stan Pay-Per-View<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/x.com\/StanSportAU\/status\/1986214504708092127?s=20<\/a><\/p>\n

If Opetaia can get past Cinkara,\ufeff that will set up a fight with WBC belt holder Badou Jack in early 2026, before a possible clash with Ramirez.<\/p>\n

Cinkara, 40, who began his career at 31, has knocked out 19 of the 23 fighters he's faced.<\/p>\n

But Opetaia is unblemished on the Gold Coast where he has defended his belts twice with KO wins.<\/p>\n

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READ MORE:<\/strong> 'Scary' reality as Suns expose draft's greatest flaw<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

\"Jai<\/p>\n

\ufeffThe Ring magazine reported last month that Opetaia was considering paying Cinkara step-aside money so he could fight England's former world champion Chris Billam-Smith instead.<\/p>\n

Yet a deal was reached with the German\ufeff just hours before a scheduled purse bid.<\/p>\n

"I'm already deep in preparation and ready to put on another exciting show. Cinkara is unbeaten and dangerous, but this is my time," he told The Ring.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

"I've been calling for unifications, but the other champions don't seem to want it. First, I have to take care of Cinkara – and then we keep chasing those belts.<\/p>\n

"One thing's for sure: the titles are staying in Australia."<\/p>\n

Tasman Fighters director Mick Francis added: "Jai Opetaia is the best boxer in Australia and the number one cruiserweight in the world.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/x.com\/StanSportAU\/status\/1986328330757373975?s=20<\/a><\/p>\n

"His star keeps rising, and bringing this fight to Australia shows just how big he's become. Fans can expect fireworks."\ufeff<\/p>\n

In the co-main event\ufeff, Justis Huni will fight for the first time since his tough defeat in the 10th round of his interim WBA heavyweight title clash with Fabio Wardley in June.<\/p>\n

Huni (12-1, 7 KOs) will step into the ring for a rematch with New Zealand's Kiki Toa Leutele (12-2-2, 8 KOs). Huni won in 2022.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Jai Opetaia (28-0), will defend his titles against the undefeated Huseyin Cinkara (23-0) on the Gold Coast on Saturday, December 6. While there has been […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":355346,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/480445"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=480445"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/480445\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":480448,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/480445\/revisions\/480448"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/355346"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=480445"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=480445"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=480445"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}