American boxer Deontay Wilder will face Australia’s Jai Opetaia as the co-main event on the undercard of Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua’s long-awaited heavyweight fight in December. The bout, which puts the WBA ‘super’ heavyweight title on the line, will take place at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium.
A Step Up in Weight for Opetaia
Unbeaten WBA ‘regular’ cruiserweight champion Opetaia, 31, is moving up to heavyweight for the first time to challenge Wilder, a former world champion boasting 43 knockouts. Opetaia holds a 31-0 record with 24 knockouts, while Wilder enters the ring with a record of 45 wins, 4 losses, and 1 draw. Wilder, 41, held the WBC heavyweight title from 2015 to 2020 and earned a reputation as one of his generation’s most feared punchers. His career includes an epic trilogy against Fury, which resulted in one draw and two defeats for the American.
Wilder previously came close to securing a fight with Joshua, but a knockout defeat against China’s Zhilei Zhang in June 2024 derailed those plans. For Opetaia, the clash offers a fresh challenge after years of dominance at cruiserweight and a previous reign as IBF champion. His recent move to Zuffa Boxing introduced complications after he stopped WBC champion Noel Mikaelian in September but missed out on the belt due to a sanctioning dispute. Following that victory, Opetaia faced off against David Benavidez, leaving open the possibility of a future cruiserweight bout if the Mexican wins his three-belt unification fight against Michal Cieslak.
Undercard Details and Ticket Sales
For Wilder, the matchup presents an opportunity to become the first professional boxer to defeat Opetaia. Although Wilder has suffered two losses in his previous four fights, he bounced back with a split-decision victory over Britain’s Derek Chisora in April.
Tickets for the main event sold out in under an hour. The ringwalks for Fury and Joshua are scheduled to begin around 01:00 GMT on Saturday, 12 December, following a brief live music performance, with the stadium staying open until 03:30. Organizers have yet to announce the rest of the undercard bouts, though Wales’ former IBF super-featherweight champion Joe Cordina is reportedly in negotiations to fight Manny Pacquiao.
