Deontay Wilder to face Jai Opetaia on Fury v Joshua undercard in December
Deontay Wilder will meet Jai Opetaia on the undercard of Tyson Fury v Anthony Joshua at Cardiff's Principality Stadium on Saturday, 12 December, with the WBA 'super' heavyweight title at stake; the bout is scheduled as the co-main event.
Opetaia, 31, is the unbeaten WBA 'regular' cruiserweight champion with a 31-0 record and 24 knockouts and will move up to heavyweight for the first time. Wilder, 41, carries a 45-4-1 record with 43 KOs, is a former WBC heavyweight champion (2015 to 2020) and will hope to re-establish himself among the heavyweight elite. Wilder is also regarded in the report as one of the most feared punchers of his generation and he fought an epic trilogy with Fury that produced a draw and two defeats.
Wilder had been close to facing Joshua before a knockout loss to China's Zhilei Zhang in June 2024 derailed that potential meeting. He has lost two of his previous four fights but recorded a split-decision win over Briton Derek Chisora in April. The match against Opetaia presents Wilder with a chance to be the first professional boxer to get the better of the Australian.
This will be Opetaia's first high-level heavyweight fight; he is a former IBF champion and has been described as a force at cruiserweight. The move up in weight represents a step change after years of dominance in the cruiserweight division. Opetaia stopped WBC champion Noel Mikaelian in September but, according to the report, could not claim that belt because of a sanctioning dispute linked to his move to Zuffa Boxing, which has brought complications for the Australian.
Opetaia faced off against David Benavidez after his victory over Mikaelian, and the article notes a future cruiserweight meeting between them could still happen if Benavidez comes through his three-belt unification bout with Michal Cieslak. Those developments leave open the possibility of further high-profile fights for Opetaia at cruiserweight despite the planned heavyweight step-up.
The remainder of the Fury–Joshua undercard has yet to be announced, with Wales' former IBF super-featherweight champion Joe Cordina thought to be in negotiations to fight Manny Pacquiao. Promoters have not confirmed the full supporting card for the Cardiff event.
Tickets for the main event sold out in under an hour, and ringwalks are expected to start at around 01:00 GMT on Saturday, 12 December following a short live music performance, with the stadium scheduled to remain open until 03:30.