Jai Opetaia vs Jack Massey Preview October 12th, 2024
Unbeaten Lineal and IBF Cruiserweight Champion Jai Opetaia of Australia takes on England’s Jack Massey in Saudi Arabia this Saturday, October 12th. Opetaia won the titles via a unanimous decision over Mairis Briedis in a slugfest in July, 2022 and defended the IBF Belt by stopping Jordan Thompson in the fourth round 14 months later. He was stripped of the IBF Crown for failing to fight Briedis in a mandatory defence and defended the Lineal Title last December by halting Ellis Zorro in the first round. Opetaia then met Briedis in May in a rematch for the vacant IBF Belt and beat him by unanimous decision. Massey last fought in June when he beat Isaac Chamberlain via a 12-round unanimous decision to capture the Commonwealth Title and the vacant European Belt. The 12-round fight can be seen live on DAZN pay-per-view on the undercard of the Beterbiev vs Bivol contest.
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Opetaia vs Massey Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Jack Massey +1000
- Jai Opetaia -2000
My Pick
The 29-year-old southpaw Opetaia climbs through the ropes with a perfect mark of 25-0 with 19 Ko’s and obviously carries quite a bit of power in his punches with a current knockout ratio of 76 per cent. However other than Briedis, he’s fought limited opposition up to now as his biggest wins were over the likes of Zorro, Thompson, Daniel Ammann, Frankie Lopez, Kurtis Pegoraro, Mark Flanagan and Benjamin Kelleher.
Opetaia of Sydney, is a good-sized cruiserweight as he stands 6-feet-2-inches tall with a 76-inch reach and has boxed 114 rounds since making his pro debut in 2015 following a pretty successful amateur career. Opetaia represented his homeland at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, England as a heavyweight but was edged in his first bout.
He was an Australian National Champion in 2012, 2013 and 2014 and won a gold medal at the 2011 World Junior Championships. He won gold at the 2012 Oceanian Olympic Qualifier as well as bronze at the 2012 World Youth Championships and boxed at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland. Since turning pro Opetaia has also won the vacant Australia-New South Wales State Heavyweight Title along with the vacant OPBF, Australian, WBO Global, WBO Asia Pacific, WBA Oceania, IBF Pan Pacific, IBF Asia Oceania, and IBF Youth Cruiserweight Belts.
As for Massey, he’s a 31-year-old from Derbyshire and carries around a record of 22-2 with 12 Ko’s. He’s fought 117 rounds since making his pro debut in 2013 following an amateur career which saw him beat Chris Billam-Smith in the 2013 English National Championships. He measures 6-feet-4-inches with an unlisted reach so stands two inches taller than the champion. He’s boxed most of his pro career as a cruiserweight but moved up to heavyweight in 2023 when he dropped a 10-round unanimous decision to former world champion Joseph Parker.
Massey won the vacant IBO Cruiserweight Belt in November, 2021 when he stopped Bilal Laggoune in the third round and earlier in his career he captured the vacant IBF European and vacant WBC Youth Silver Cruiserweight Titles. His first loss as a pro came against Richard Riakporhe via 12-round unanimous decision in a shot at the vacant British Cruiserweight Title in 2019 and was dropped in the 10th round of that fight. Massey has never fought outside of England as a pro and he has slightly above-average power as 54.6 per cent of his wins have come by stoppage including four of his past five.
Prediction…
Opetaia suffered a jaw injury in his fight against Briedis and was out of action for over a year but hasn’t had a problem since coming back and has improved since that battle. Massey held his own against Joseph Parker and could prove to be a frustrating opponent for Opetaia. Despite the odds, Massey has a good chin and could take the champion the distance here but I think Opetaia’s the more aggressive boxer and should do enough to hold onto his belt.
Opetaia is the more aggressive boxer.
Play: Opetaia -2000 @ BetOnline.ag
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Jack Massey betting • Jai Opetaia betting