Jai Opetaia and his team have taken the big stick to Mexican superstar Gilberto ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez – which includes urging him to “grow some balls” – following suggestions the fellow cruiserweight champion is now set to brush their proposed unification showdown for a 2026 blockbuster against David Benavidez.
While Team Opetaia have been locked in contract negotiations with Ramirez for months, and had even agreed to a figure with billionaire Saudi promoter Turki Al-Sheikh, it now seems the big punching Central Coast southpaw is set to be avoided again.
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Asked about the overnight development — which has seen Benavidez claim he will again be moving up to challenge Ramirez on May 2 —- Opetaia’s manager Mick Francis was furious, saying “we’re witnessing a great champion being avoided in broad daylight”.
The revelation also comes only weeks after Francis also warned Fox Sports Australia how Ramirez, who holds WBO and WBA gold, was effectively ducking his client by demanding a purse of US$8 million – a figure Opetaia’s UK promoter Eddie Hearn also suggested was “taking the piss”.
Hearn also revealed His Excellency had put a figure on what both purses should be worth, with the IBF and Ring cruiserweight king agreeing immediately.
Now overnight, Team Opetaia have been left seething after Benavidez, aka The Mexican Monster, surprisingly announced he will be moving up from light heavyweight to challenge Ramirez.
After defending his WBC and WBA light heavyweight titles on Sunday – KOing Anthony Yarde in the seventh – the man who sits at No.9 in the Ring’s pound-for-pound rankings said he would again be moving up.
“I’ve got some news,” Benavidez said immediately after the win. “May 2, Zurdo Ramirez, I’m going up to challenge for his title.”
Exactly where this now puts Opetaia, who is currently preparing to fight his own mandatory against Huseyin Cinkara in December, is unclear.
Only last month the Aussie revealed how he had met directly with His Excellency Al-Sheikh and mapped out a 2026 schedule that would see him fight for WBC gold, then Ramirez and, likely, a Benavidez blockbuster at the end of the year before moving to heavyweight.
That now appears gone if the Benavidez announcement is true.
There remains a chance Opetaia could still fight for the WBC crown in the first third of next year and then fight the winner of Benavidez-Ramirez before Christmas – however there remains no guarantee for any of it.
Worse, even the WBC situation remains clouded, with reigning champ Badou Jack forced into a sanctioned rematch with Armenia’s Norair Mikaelyan this December.
Asked about the sudden suggestions Ramirez will now fight Benavidez next, both Opetaia and his team were incredibly frustrated by the decison, especially given the Australian has been locked in negotiations with the fellow cruiserweight champ for some time.
“I’ve been waiting for the unification fights for years,” Opetaia said on Monday morning.
“I’m sick of the excuses.
“None of these other champions are in a hurry to face me — and we all know why.”
Opetaia’s manager Francis was equally furious.
“We’re witnessing a great champion being avoided in broad daylight,” he said.
“Jai is the bogeyman of the cruiserweight division, and these so-called champions won’t even say his name.
“Masternak ducked him, Riakporhe ducked him, Billam-Smith ducked him … and Zurdo Ramirez has ducked him in the biggest, most embarrassing way of all.”
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Later, Francis continued: “Let’s be real, all roads at cruiserweight go through Jai Opetaia.
“This Ramirez–Benavidez fight is nothing more than a contest to see who’s the second-best cruiserweight in the world.
“Zurdo’s camp had the nerve to demand US$8 million to fight Jai.
“They might as well have said, ‘No chance — we don’t want that smoke.’ That would’ve been more honest.”
Francis also stressed Opetaia was chasing greatness as a fighter — not cash — and his only goal right now is unifying the cruiserweight division.
“So he wants these guys to grow some balls and step up,” the manager continued.
“Jai is one of the most feared world champions in the history of the cruiserweight division, and he remains ready, willing and waiting for any of these other title holders to step up.”
Speaking with Fox Sports Australia back in October, Hearn described the US$8M (or AU$12 million) demand to face Opetaia as “crazy” and “taking the p***”.
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Hearn added His Excellency Turki Al-Sheikh, had already put a worth on the fight — with himself, Opetaia and Francis having agreed to their end of the contract.
“We’ve agreed to a deal,” Hearn said. “We had an offer from Turki and we’ve agreed to a price.
“But then Ramirez came back with a number that was just crazy.
“And Turki is a guy that if you start with a number that’s too high, he thinks you’re taking the piss out of him.
“And he’ll say ‘OK, don’t worry about it’ – then move on with making his next fight.
“And that’s what I think has happened.”
Asked if Ramirez and his promoter Oscar de la Hoya were deliberately pricing themselves out of the fight, Hearn continued: “Asking for the money they did, that’s sometimes a sign you don’t want the fight.
“But after Jai gets this next fight [against Cinkara] done, there isn’t anyone else people want to see him fight.
“Obviously whoever holds the WBC belt is an option, but it’s primarily Gilberto Ramirez.
“Yet it all comes down to the other fighter.
“And maybe they don’t want the fight.
“Oscar de la Hoya knows his boxing.
“And while the rivalry between himself and I is more friendly now, he doesn’t want to lose to us.
“He knows how good Jai is.
“Of course, Ramirez is good too and it won’t be an easy fight.
“It’s a great fight.
“But we’re favourite … [and] I don’t think they’re actively pursuing the fight.”