Tyson Fury vs Anthony Joshua co-main event includes Deontay Wilder as announcement made
Deontay Wilder will face Jai Opetaia on the undercard of Tyson Fury vs Anthony Joshua. It marks the first undercard bout officially announced for the all-British blockbuster, which takes place at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium on December 11. Wilder had been in negotiations to face Oleksandr Usyk – but is now set to take on cruiserweight king OpetaiaGetty Reports emerged late last month that Wilder had agreed terms to box lineal cruiserweight king Opetaia, who will be moving up to heavyweight for the clash. White announces Wilder vs Opetaia UFC CEO and Zuffa Boxing co-founder Dana White was among those to make it official on Wednesday, no doubt adding fuel to the fire of his ongoing feud with Eddie Hearn over his involvement in Fury vs AJ. “The co-main event is officially set,” White said on social media, announcing Wilder vs Opetaia. “These two guys have a combined 67 knockouts. You do not want to miss this fight, live only on Netflix.” View Tweet: https://x.co
Deontay Wilder will face Jai Opetaia on the undercard of Tyson Fury vs Anthony Joshua.
It marks the first undercard bout officially announced for the all-British blockbuster, which takes place at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium on December 11.
Reports emerged late last month that Wilder had agreed terms to box lineal cruiserweight king Opetaia, who will be moving up to heavyweight for the clash.
White announces Wilder vs Opetaia
UFC CEO and Zuffa Boxing co-founder Dana White was among those to make it official on Wednesday, no doubt adding fuel to the fire of his ongoing feud with Eddie Hearn over his involvement in Fury vs AJ.
“The co-main event is officially set,” White said on social media, announcing Wilder vs Opetaia.
“These two guys have a combined 67 knockouts. You do not want to miss this fight, live only on Netflix.”
Wilder, who hasn’t fought since a split decision win over Derek Chisora in London in April, was previously in talks to fight Oleksandr Usyk.
But talks collapsed, with Usyk seemingly set on a move down to cruiserweight to eventually face David Benavidez.
Wilder, 45-4 in his career, has just three wins since settling his iconic trilogy with Fury in 2021, having traded blows with the likes of Joseph Parker and Zhilei Zhang.
The 41-year-old is supposedly also exploring a future fight with WBA heavyweight champion Murat Gassiev.
Opetaia, meanwhile, is signed to White’s Zuffa Boxing and won the promotion’s inaugural cruiserweight belt in March.
The Australian is undefeated in 31 professional fights, with 24 KOs, and stopped Noel Mikaelian in his last fight in September.
Opetaia is currently in a legal battle with the IBF, having been stripped of his cruiserweight world title by the sanctioning body earlier this year.
Who else could be on Fury vs AJ undercard?
Wilder vs Opetaia is expected to be part of a massive undercard for Fury vs Joshua, which now has a world title on the line.
Streaming giant Netflix is keen to have boxing’s biggest names involved to appeal to a wider audience, with the event on a Friday night in the UK.
Manny Pacquiao has long been rumoured to feature on the undercard to tap into the US and Asia markets.
Although Matchroom promoter Hearn previously revealed Welsh two-time super featherweight world champion Joe Cordina had agreed terms to face Pacquiao, he claimed this week that ‘PacMan’ will not be involved.
Cordina, however, is still likely to land a spot on the undercard.
Those fights will come before Fury and Joshua make their ring walks for one of the most highly anticipated bouts in the sport’s history.
British boxing fans are in for a late night, with ring walks scheduled for 1am in Cardiff.
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