Jai Opetaia continued to make his mark in the boxing world last night (Sat., Dec. 6, 2025) in Gold Coast, Australia, delivering a brutal one-punch knockout victory over Huseyin Cinkara to retain his IBF and The Ring cruiserweight titles in the eighth round.
Opetaia was in control throughout the fight, peppering his foe with several big shots. In the eighth round, however, the Aussie timed a perfect overhand left that rattled his foes head and sent him crashing to the canvas out cold.
With the win,
Opetaia improves to 29-0 and earns his fifth titles defense of both his IBF and The Ring cruiserweight straps. Despite his devastating knockout win, Opetaia wasn’t exactly thrilled with his overall performance.
“I feel like I just fought like s—, to be honest,” said Opetaia during his post-fight interview. “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.”
He also expressed his desire to take part in a title unification bout against WBA and WBO cruiserweight champion, Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez. That fight will likely have to wait because Ramirez has signed on to defend his titles against David Benavidez in mid-2026.
