Jai Opetaia Overwhelms Jack Massey in Cruiserweight World Title Defence
Jai Opetaia (26-0, 20 KOs) overwhelmed Jack Massey (22-3, 12 KOs) to get a technical knockout win and retain his IBF cruiserweight title.
The time of stoppage was 2:00 of the sixth round. With the victory, Opetaia makes the first defence of his second IBF cruiserweight world title reign. He won the belt in May with a unanimous decision win over Mairis Briedis.
The fight was on the undercard of Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Boxing fans globally could catch the action as a pay-per-view on DAZN. Those in the United Kingdom could watch on TNT Sports Box Office and Sky Sports Box Office. In the United States – the bout between Beterbiev and Bivol will only be available on ESPN+. Similarly, only TSN and RDS will broadcast that fight for those in Canada.
Beterbiev-Bivol is part of Riyadh Season, a Saudi Arabian state-funded entertainment and sports festival. The Saudi Arabian General Entertainment Authority is responsible for its organization.
Be sure to return to Big Fight Weekend for the Beterbiev vs. Bivol final recap!
Jai Opetaia Overwhelms Jack Massey
Fight Recap
Both men began the fight bouncing on their toes, with Opetaia gradually pressing forward. While round two saw more of that, both fighters opened up in the third, trading punches to the head. Towards the end of round three, Opetaia began targeting the body of Massey more.
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The Australian picked up the tempo as the fight went on, and it was evident from round four onwards. Opetaia was throwing a variety of shots at his opponent. The Englishman had little in response to this uptick in tempo.
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In round six, Opetaia only continued to pile on the pressure. Massey, who had been bleeding from the nose for a few rounds, appeared to be soon on his way out. With a minute to go in the round, Massey’s trainer Joe Gallagher stepped into the ring to end proceedings.
Post-Fight Interview
Jai Opetaia
“I felt good [about how I fought],” said Opetaia. “You know, I knew Jack was gonna come to fight. Nothing but respect tohim and his family. Safe travels home. Just want to say a massive thank you to my whole team. Man, we’ve had to come through some hurdles to get to this ring…So many ups and downs, you know, but we stayed together and we got the win.So this victory was for all of us.”
“I’m hoping that [winner of Chris Billam-Smith vs. Gilberto Ramírez] comes, man…So we’ll what happens.”
Currently writing out of Toronto, Canada, Saadeq first became a boxing fan while living in Doha, Qatar. Looking to become more involved in the sport, he began writing about boxing and has had work published in outlets such as Seconds Out and Boxing Social. He looks forward to continue covering boxing on Big Fight Weekend.
