Deontay Wilder to fight Jai Opetaia on Fury-Joshua undercard in Cardiff

Deontay Wilder is set to face Jai Opetaia in a heavyweight bout on the undercard of Tyson Fury vs Anthony Joshua, scheduled for Friday, December 11 at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Wales. Turki Alalshikh announced the bout on X, and Netflix confirmed the matchup in a release shortly afterward. The full card streams live globally on Netflix.

The announcement brings an end to weeks of speculation surrounding the undercard. The matchup was first reported in early October by Ring Magazine’s Mike Coppinger, who stated that a heavyweight fight between Wilder and Opetaia was being explored for the Cardiff card after talks between Wilder and Oleksandr Usyk fell apart. Dana White, whose Zuffa Boxing promotes Opetaia, subsequently confirmed to Sky Sports that negotiations were underway. White told Sky Sports that Opetaia was more than likely going to be on the undercard and acknowledged that Wilder is a fighter who will take on anyone, even at heavyweight against an opponent who hits as hard as Wilder.

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Deontay Wilder vs Jai Opetaia Added to Fury vs Joshua Card in Cardiff

Deontay Wilder vs Jai Opetaia Added to Fury vs Joshua Card in Cardiff

Wilder’s manager, Shelly Finkel, told Dan Rafael that the Wilder camp had already accepted an offer. Finkel noted that while Wilder’s team had initially discussed a potential matchup with WBA titleholder Murat Gassiev, the Zuffa and Turki Alalshikh teams were not interested in that pairing and instead favored a bout against Opetaia. Finkel stated that they agreed to a number before contracts were finalized. Rafael later reported that both sides had reached an agreement, leading up to the formal announcement. Prior to the finalization of the Opetaia bout, kickboxing star Rico Verhoeven stated to TalkSport that he had also accepted an offer to face Wilder on the same December bill, though that fight did not materialize.

The upcoming bout marks Opetaia’s debut in the heavyweight division. The Australian fighter has established himself in the cruiserweight division as a two-time IBF titleholder and also holds Zuffa Boxing and The Ring cruiserweight titles, which he defended against Noel Mikaelian on the Ryan Garcia vs Conor Benn undercard. Opetaia has long expressed an intention to move up in weight and has also been linked with a potential showdown against David Benavidez, who fights Michal Cieslak for the WBC cruiserweight title on December 5. This creates a unique situation regarding Opetaia shifting divisions for the Wilder bout before potentially returning to the cruiserweight limit.

Wilder enters the heavyweight encounter with a long and significant history in the division. His career features a memorable trilogy against Tyson Fury, beginning with a draw and followed by two stoppage losses in rematches. That trilogy and an ensuing arbitration ruling forced the third fight, which delayed the long-awaited meeting between Fury and Anthony Joshua by years. Wilder has also never faced Joshua despite extended negotiations over the years. Meanwhile, Fury returned to the ring with a decision victory over Arslanbek Makhmudov, and Joshua stopped Jake Paul on Netflix.

Alalshikh shared the fight announcement alongside a Netflix and Ring Magazine fight poster billing the event as Boxing’s Biggest Night. Netflix described Opetaia in its announcement as the cruiserweight champion moving up in weight to face Wilder, whom the streamer called one of the biggest punchers in boxing history. Additional undercard bouts are expected to be announced in the weeks leading up to the December event.