Opetaia rival’s ‘bad intentions’ will bring out best
Murray Wenzel |
Dethroned world champion Jason Moloney hopes the fighting words of Jai Opetaia’s big-talking rival are matched in the ring to deliver the Australian pound-for-pound king a rare Gold Coast test.
The Ring and IBF cruiserweight champion will put his belts on the line against unbeaten veteran Huseyin Cinkara at the Convention and Exhibition Centre on Saturday.
Moloney, on a two-fight skid since losing his WBO bantamweight title in a Japan heartbreaker last May, will meet Filipino Herlan Gomez in a career-defining bout on the high-quality undercard.
Filthy at himself for focusing too much on his opponents in recent fights, Moloney (27-4) has purposely avoided any footage of the 14-2 boxer, who has 10 stoppages to his name.
German-born, Turkey-based Cinkara (23-0) has done the opposite, labelling Opetaia (28-0) a softer puncher and declaring he will “knock him senseless” on Saturday.
That’s despite Opetaia’s ruthless run of form since capturing his titles three years ago.
He has 22 career-stoppages and averages less than five rounds per fight.
The 30-year-old shattered Claudio Squeo’s jaw in his most-recent defence, the latest in a string of brutal stoppages since winning the belts despite nursing his own twice-broken jaw on the Gold Coast in 2022.
“He’s already an absolute weapon as it is, so I’m not sure you want to poke the bear too much, but I do like it,” Moloney told AAP of the 40-year-old mandatory challenger’s confidence.
“It’s an incredible opportunity for Cinkara and he’s coming in with those bad intentions; that’s exactly what he should be doing.
“So he’s talking a big game, let’s hope he brings a big game and makes it a big, exciting fight.
“That’s what Jai wants; a test, a hard fight. Everyone wants to see Jai at his best and it’ll take a special fighter to put it on him and ensure we can see it.”
Moloney, meanwhile, hasn’t wasted any time researching Gomez as he looks to re-route his path to another title shot.
The 34-year-old defended his belt once, before back-to-back losses in Japan to Yoshiki Takei and Tenshin Nasukawa left the Kingscliff-based fighter lamenting over analysis.
“Of course I wish I could have them again, they were fights I could have won,” he said.
“I have stuck true to it, I haven’t watched him and I feel like it’s worked.
“I have thought about (watching Gomez footage) a few times, thinking it’s a risk going in with relatively no idea of what this guy brings.
“But with my experience and level I’ve been fighting … I’ve seen it all and you can’t buy that experience.
“And one thing about Filipinos … they can all punch, they’re all explosive so I’m prepared for that, I know they come with a bit of risk.”
Max McIntyre, Jake Wyllie, Paul Fleming, Teremoana Jnr and Ben Mahoney will all feature on the card, a pay-per-view Stan Sport show as part of a new three-fight deal struck by Opetaia’s Tasman Fighters promotional company.
AAP
