IBF cruiserweight champion Jay Opetaia (27-0, 21 KOs) says he wants a unification fight against WBA/WBO champion Gilberto “Zordo” Ramirez following his fourth-round win over challenger David Nica (10-1, 9 KOs) on Wednesday night in Australia.
Inside game scares
Obitaya, 29, will have to put up a better fight against Zurdo Ramirez to be able to defeat the unified champion. The deficiency that Jay showed on the inside against Nika tonight will be exploited by Zordo, who is an elite fighter. This is the best part of his game. He would beat up Obitaya in a fight on the inside and overwhelm him with punches.
We saw tonight that Jay is a one-armed fighter, only able to land his left hand with authority and needs to be on the outside to generate power. He was average on the inside when Nika forced him into that fight by closing down space, wrestling and punching. If this had been Ramirez, Gay would have been out of his league and likely would have been eliminated.
According to Jake Donovan and Tasman Fighters president Mick Francis, May 3rd is a possible date for a unification fight between Opetaia and Zurdo Ramirez. Now, the cheating party tries to negotiate a match. This won't be easy.
Opetaia is a good fighter in the Bivol mold, but he doesn't have anything in the game, and he's not built for a fighter like Gilberto Ramirez, Oleksandr Usyk, or even Artur Beterbiev. It's very one-dimensional and more of a shot type.
Nyika's tactics in close combat
“I want these unification battles. “I want all those belts around my waist,” Obitaya told . Media In the post-fight press conference after his win over Nika. “I'm chasing unification fights, but if they put someone else in front of me, I can't stop it.
“I was kind of bummed about the way it came out,” Opetaia said of Nikka's aggression. “He wants to have a dog fight,” my old father said to me. “If he wants to have a dog fight, let’s have a dog fight.”
Nika was fighting Obitaya on even terms, brawling with him and beating him inside. His tactics of turning combat into melee combat were very effective. Jay ended the fight in the fourth round when he came outside, hurt Nika with a left hand, then beat him with combinations.
