IBF cruiserweight champion Jai Opetaia is set to take on Brandon Glanton for the inaugural Zuffa Boxing Cruiserweight World Championship on March 8 at the Meta Apex in Las Vegas, as announced by Zuffa Boxing today.
Hailing from Gold Coast, Australia, Opetaia (29-0, 23 KOs) joined Zuffa Boxing last month, marking a significant acquisition for the new boxing promotion led by UFC CEO Dana White. He will now vie for the promotion’s first world title against Glanton (21-3, 18 KOs).
Zuffa Boxing has not acknowledged Opetaia’s IBF title in their announcement. It is anticipated that the title will be contested, although there has been no formal confirmation from Opetaia or the IBF regarding this issue.
Opetaia is widely considered the top cruiserweight in the sport. He is coming off a decisive eighth-round knockout victory over Huseyin Cinkara in December, marking his fourth consecutive knockout win. He joined Zuffa Boxing after expressing his dissatisfaction with the inability to secure a unification bout with the other champions in the division, presenting him with the chance to make history as Zuffa Boxing’s first champion.
Glanton, fighting out of Atlanta, has faced defeats against Chris Billiam-Smith, Soslan Asbarov, and David Light. He achieved a stoppage victory over Marcus Browne in his latest fight last October and has never been knocked out. Opetaia represents a notable increase in competition for Glanton.
