Opetaia ends Cinkara’s perfect record with an explosive strike in round eight – the Australian IBF champion now demands title unification.
IBF cruiserweight world champion Jai Opetaia made another statement at the Gold Coast Convention Centre in Queensland, Australia, stopping German challenger Huseyin Cinkara with a brutal knockout in round eight.
Opetaia (29-0, 23 knockouts) extended his impressive streak to four knockouts in a row and defended his IBF title for the fourth time in a row. For Cinkara (23-1, 19 knockouts), his first world championship opportunity and debut outside Europe ended with the first defeat of his professional career.
The decisive moment came in the eighth round – a punch out of nowhere. Both cruiserweights were largely moving around the ring without any hard action, but then the Australian landed a right jab followed by a hard left straight right to the chin. Cinkara collapsed and referee Chris Flores stopped the fight immediately.
“To be honest, I boxed like shit,” said an unusually self-critical Opetaia in an interview after the fight. “There are nights like that. We’ll go back to the drawing board. I’m very disappointed in myself, I made a lot of mistakes. I’m really pissed off.”
The champion continued: “I’m angry, but we have the victory. I need this piece of humility. We want title unifications – Zurdo, I’ve been chasing belts for a long time. Now it’s back to the gym to grind it all out.”