IBF and Ring Magazine cruiserweight champion Jai Opetaia has opened up about a potential fight against Gilberto 'Zurdo' Ramirez. Ramirez was recently seen in action against Chris Billam-Smith when he became the unified WBA and WBO champion at 200 lbs.
During a recent interview with The Sporting News, the Australian reacted to Ramirez securing a dominant victory over Billiam-Smith and stated:
"I wish I could have fought Chris Billam-Smith first. I wish I could've fought him and then fought Zurdo. But now [Billam-Smith's] out of the picture, now I've got to fight Zurdo, let's do it. That was a good fight, they're both tough."
Furthermore, Opetaia spoke about potentially fighting Ramirez for a unification bout. While suggesting that he wants to become the undisputed champion, he said:
"It has to [happen], all these boys - he says keen to fight, we'll see. This fight, it's easy-made. These are easy-made fights, we can make them happen. I want to become the undisputed cruiserweight champion, I'm excited for these fights and they're just getting closer and closer to happening."
As of now, Opetaia, who is Australia's pound-for-pound number one boxer, is set to defend his world title on home soil when he takes on Germany's Huseyin Cinkara on the Gold Coast on Wednesday, January 8. Following a potentially successful defense against the German, fans can expect Opetaia to take on Ramirez.