Two terrible IBF title fights, previously thought abandoned, are back on the menu.
First, the Australian Associated Press reports that the sanctioning body has once again ordered cruiserweight champion Jai Opetaia (28-0, 22 KO) to meet mandatory challenger Huseyin Cinkara (23-0, 19 KO). The pair were slated to meet in January before Cinkara injured his ankle, leaving Opetaia to wreck David Nyika in his place. Opetaia has since added Claudio Squeo to his list of victims, but with “Zurdo” Ramirez undergoing
shoulder surgery, a clash with Cinkara is once again seemingly unavoidable.
Per the AAP, Cinkara turned down a “six-figure” payment to step aside and let Opetaia meet Billam-Smith instead while Ramirez recovered.
Down at 154, Bakhram Murtazaliev (23-0, 17 KO) vs Josh Kelly (17-1-1, 9 KO) is back on the menu. Murtazaliev previously broke off his pursuit of Kelly due to an impending mandatory defense against Erickson Lubin, but “The Hammer” has since lined up a more lucrative October showdown with Vergil Ortiz Jr.
I have attempted in the past to set up an interview with IBF representatives to discuss their rankings system, which regularly promotes abominable matchups like these, but they’ve either sidestepped the question or whined about my coverage instead.
