Dana White has slammed the IBF over their treatment of Australia’s Jai Opetaia in the lead-up to his U.S. debut.
The Aussie knockout artist is due to face Brandon Glanton in Las Vegas on Sunday (Monday in Aus.), and was expecting to defend his IBF and Ring Magazine cruiserweight titles, as well as compete for the inaugural Zuffa Boxing championship.
Following this week’s press conference, the IBF released a statement to announce they were withdrawing their sanction of the fight, citing Zuffa’s failure to characterise their title as “a trophy or token of recognition,” rather than a genuine world championship.
A report from journalist Dan Rafael, however, claimed IBF president Daryl Peoples felt disrespected by the way their belt was displayed at the press conference.
The strap sat next to Opetaia on the stage and the Gold Coast-based southpaw held it while facing off with Glanton.
As it stands, Opetaia is set to be stripped of the title if the fight goes ahead without the IBF’s sanction.
Speaking following UFC 326, White, who is looking to make a splash in boxing with Zuffa, said Opetaia had already paid his sanctioning fee for the bout.
“I’ll talk about that tomorrow at the boxing press conference, but…,” White said.
“This guy defended their title for four years, paid his sanctioning fee.
“The f***in’ guy who’s the supervisor or whatever he is flies here, lands and says, ‘Hey, where’s my per diem?’
“We give him his per diem, he jumps back on the f***in’ plane and flies back and they put out a press release.”
Despite the IBF statement, Opetaia carried the belt with him to the weigh-in, and completed the organisation’s mandatory fight day weight check.
The 30-year-old’s team are continuing their efforts to ensure he has every chance to retain the belt and keep his dream of becoming undisputed champion at 200-pounds alive.
White has previously spoken of his unwillingness to work with boxing’s sanctioning bodies, suggesting there will be plenty more tension to come as Zuffa continues its expansion into the sport.
“These guys are going to do all the work for us,” White said.
“They’re gonna do all the work.”
WATCH: Stream Opetaia vs. Glanton LIVE in Australia on Paramount+ (free trial)
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