Dana White says talks are underway to put cruiserweight champion Jai Opetaia across from Deontay Wilder. The target is the undercard of Tyson Fury vs. Anthony Joshua in the UK.
BoxingScene reported Saturday that the UFC CEO confirmed the discussions. Opetaia holds the cruiserweight title. Wilder is a former heavyweight titleholder. That makes this a cross-division fight. Nothing I’ve seen says what weight it would land at, or whether anyone is close to signing a contract. Confirmed talks are still talks, and I’ve watched plenty of those die in a hotel lobby at 1 a.m.
The show it’s attached to is enormous, though. White told Sky Sports Boxing that the expected gate for Fury-Joshua is $34 million, according to a Championship Rounds post on X. If that number holds, it would be the fourth-biggest gate in boxing history. Only Mayweather-Pacquiao ($72.2 million), Mayweather-McGregor ($55.4 million) and Canelo-Crawford ($47.2 million) did more. A house that size can afford a second fight with real names on it, and a Wilder bout gives the walk-up crowd a reason to find their seats before the main event.
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White has had a busy boxing week. When Eddie Hearn offered to meet, White’s response, per MMA Fighting, was “This is so f silly now.” So don’t expect a joint press conference anytime soon.
Wilder’s name is getting passed around a lot right now. On Wednesday night, Jake Paul posted a list of opponents he wants “Before I rest…” and Wilder was on it. So were Canelo Alvarez, Francis Ngannou, Conor McGregor and Tom Aspinall (boxing). Darren Till, who also made the list, replied on X: “Stop talking shite I would flat line you inside of 5”. Paul’s list is a wish. White’s talks with Opetaia’s side are the ones that could produce an actual date.
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The headliners are already in camp mode, at least on social media. Gaston Reyno posted footage of “Manos de Piedra” Duran showing Joshua body shots. Hard to think of a better teacher for that particular lesson.
I’ll take this fight every day of the week. A reigning champion volunteering to go fight a former heavyweight titleholder on the biggest UK card in years has picked the hard road on purpose, and I like fighters who do that. Plenty of belt holders would rather defend against the mandatory and go home. Somebody now has to put pen to paper. Until then, it’s a very good idea with a very big gate behind it.
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