Deontay Wilder to face Jai Opetaia on Fury v Joshua undercard in Cardiff
Deontay Wilder will meet unbeaten Australian cruiserweight champion Jai Opetaia at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff on 11 December on the undercard of Tyson Fury’s showdown with Anthony Joshua, organisers announced on Wednesday. The event will stream live worldwide on Netflix.
Wilder, 41, is a former World Boxing Council heavyweight champion who held the title from 2015 to 2020 and made 10 successful defences before losing the belt to Fury. The American’s professional ledger stands at 45 wins, four defeats and one draw, with 43 victories coming by knockout; he won an Olympic bronze medal in 2008 for the United States. After a one-sided defeat to Joseph Parker and a knockout loss to Zhilei Zhang in 2024 Wilder registered victories over Tyrrell Anthony Herndon and Derek Chisora.
Opetaia, 31, is unbeaten in 31 professional outings and is established at cruiserweight, having captured the IBF world title with a victory over Mairis Briedis in 2022 and since dominating the 200lb division. The Sydneysider is a southpaw and a former Olympian who represented Australia at the 2012 London Games aged 16. He will move up to heavyweight to make his debut in the division against Wilder.
Wilder stands 6ft 7in and has spent his entire professional career in the heavyweight division, while Opetaia will be making the step up from cruiserweight for this contest. The pairing adds another high-profile bout to the card headlined by Fury and Joshua, whose long-awaited meeting was confirmed in September after years of unsuccessful negotiations.
Both Fury and Joshua are attempting to return to the summit of the sport after suffering two defeats apiece against Oleksandr Usyk, described in reports as the unbeaten former undisputed heavyweight champion from Ukraine who relinquished his remaining world title belts in June but insists he has not retired. Fury has won twice since returning to the ring, while Joshua spent the year rebuilding after his knockout loss to Daniel Dubois in 2024.
Organisers said the undercard will take place on a Friday night, with the main-event ringwalks at the Principality Stadium expected in the small hours of Saturday morning — widely reported to be around 2am — to accommodate a prime-time American audience for Netflix. Netflix will broadcast the event globally after its preferred plan to stage the fight at New York’s Madison Square Garden was scuppered.
Zuffa Boxing’s Dana White, whose disputed role in the promotion remains uncertain, posted on social media: "The co-main event is officially set. These two guys have a combined 67 knockouts. You do not want to miss this fight."
The Wilder–Opetaia bout is scheduled as the co-main on 11 December at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff and will be shown live worldwide on Netflix as part of the Fury v Joshua event.