Jai Opetaia to drop secondary WBA title and be WBC mandatory for Benavidez v Cieslak winner
The winner of the 5 December cruiserweight unification must face Opetaia next or risk being stripped of the WBC title, and Opetaia first fights Deontay Wilder at heavyweight in Cardiff.
Jai Opetaia has agreed to give up his WBA "regular" cruiserweight title after the WBC ranked him No. 2, and he is now the mandatory challenger for the winner of David Benavidez v Michal Cieslak on 5 December.
The ruling came at the WBC convention in Acapulco this week. "On Tuesday, a representative for WBA (Regular) champion Jai Opetaia said Opetaia would vacate his secondary title if he could be ranked No. 2 in the WBC's cruiserweight rankings," Uncrowned Combat reported, as quoted by Boxing News. "The request was granted, and on Wednesday it was also confirmed that the Australian would become the mandatory challenger for the winner of the three-belt unification clash between David Benavidez and Michal Cieslak on Dec. 5."
Boxing News says the winner will have to take on Opetaia next or risk being stripped of the WBC title. Cieslak is the WBC champion, and Benavidez holds the WBA and WBO belts after stopping Gilberto 'Zurdo' Ramirez earlier this year. The WBC's own convention round-up lists Cieslak against Benavidez as a unification bout on 5 December. The IBF title is vacant.
Boxing News says Benavidez v Opetaia is anticipated in May if Benavidez beats Cieslak and the IBF does not reinstate Opetaia as its champion. Asked last month about fighting Opetaia on Cinco de Mayo, Benavidez said he does not duck anyone and that the fight would be for the undisputed belts.
Opetaia has a heavyweight fight first. He meets Deontay Wilder on the Tyson Fury vs Anthony Joshua card at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff on 11 December, live on Netflix.
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