Jai Opetaia scored a brutal technical knockout win in the ninth round of his cruiserweight clash with Noel Mikaelian on Saturday night, then lined up a potentially massive showdown with pound-for-pound star David Benavidez for Cinco de Mayo next year.
It all went down on the Ryan Garcia vs. Conor Benn undercard inside Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena, and provided the sport with something it has lacked — continuity — in a 200-pound division often overlooked in favor of the traditionally more glamorous weight classes that surround it.
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Opetaia (31-0, 24 KOs) walked to the ring sweating, as if he’d warmed up with intent to hurt, and he needed no second invitation to land the first punch of the night. He kept his forearms high to thwart Mikaelian’s probing punches, throwing single shots in return, mostly to the head and to the body too. But a clash of heads, likely caused by their opposing stances, appeared to open a cut below Opetaia’s eye, slowing his momentum.
Whether it was the bruising that had begun to grow, or the loss of his friend and former trainer Louis Meehan, who was shot dead Wednesday in a Sydney suburb, Opetaia seemed momentarily subdued.
He had, after all, overcome mid-fight injuries before when he shook off a twice-fractured jaw to defeat Mairis Briedis in a cruiserweight world title fight in 2022.
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Opetaia’s opponent, Mikaelian (28-4, 12 KOs), brought championship pedigree to the ring himself, having won the WBC belt against Ilunga Makabu in 2023 before a promotional dispute with the sanctioning body forced him to vacate his belt Saturday night.
But Mikaelian still came to fight. He flurried at Opetaia’s midsection and landed more precise punches — particularly with his right hand, which proved a reliable weapon throughout the fight, while it lasted. He landed it in the second round, in the third, and also in the seventh, bang on the head again and again.
While Mikaelian is known to make things tricky, Opetaia is renowned for his punching prowess. And in the ninth round, he let his fists fly at a moment when Mikaelian dropped his guard, costing the former WBC champ the round — and the fight.
With his head on Mikaelian’s chest, Opetaia snuck a heavy right hand across Mikaelian’s face. Mikaelian held onto Opetaia’s right glove, but it did little to prevent the Zuffa boxer from smacking him with his left. With Mikaelian suddenly walking backward and defenseless, he became target practice for Opetaia, who hit him with a big left hand and then a follow-up right that would’ve sent Mikaelian to the canvas if it weren’t for the ropes, which held him up.
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Referee Harvey Dock ushered Opetaia into a neutral corner and scored it as a technical knockdown.
As Dock assessed Mikaelian, the challenger appeared to be out on his feet and Dock called the fight off. Mikaelian offered a pretense of protest but even he knew it was over.
“He is as tough as nails,” Opetaia said after the fight. “I knew he’d be experienced, a good fighter. Who’s next?”
As it turns out, unified WBA and WBO champion Benavidez had been sitting ringside the entire time. He stood from his seat at the bell and made a beeline for the ring when invited.
“I respect him. He’s done a lot for the sport,” Opetaia said of Benavidez before going nose-to-nose. “Respectfully, let’s get it on.”
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Through a smile, Benavidez replied, “Let’s do it, Cinco de Mayo, next year. There can only be one monster in this weight division.”
Check out complete Ryan Garcia vs. Conor Benn results and highlights here.
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