What to Know
- The undercard for the upcoming heavyweight fight between Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua has now added a second heavyweight showdown.
- Cruiserweight champion Jai Opetaia will face former WBC World Heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder in an intriguing showdown for both men.
- Fury vs Wilder and Wilder vs Opetaia will air on Netflix on Friday, December 11, from Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Wales.
If you like your boxing best when it’s a pair of heavyweights slugging it out, Wednesday’s news from Netflix comes as a welcome addition to the Fury vs Joshua heavyweight fight card.
Former WBC World Heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder of Tuscaloosa, Alabama (45-4-1, 43 KOs) will take on undefeated and reigning cruiserweight champion Jai Opetaia of Australia (31-0, 24 KOs), who will give the heavyweight division a go for the first time as a professional.
It’s an unexpected but not an unwelcome matchup. Opetaia appeared to be on a collision course for a cruiserweight division unification fight with David Benavidez, currently the unified WBA and WBO champion. Benavidez was waved into the ring by Opetaia after he defeated Noel Mikaelian in October, and the pair seemed eager for a showdown.
Instead, Benavidez is now scheduled to face his mandatory challenger and the WBC World Cruiserweight champion, Michał Cieślak of Poland, on December 5 in Glendale, Arizona.
The only remaining title in play is the IBF belt. It originally belonged to Opetaia, but the sanctioning organization stripped Opetaia of the title on March 19, 2026, after he participated in an unsanctioned March 8 fight against Brandon Glanton under Zuffa Boxing, which the IBF does not recognize.
But who needs a belt at stake when there’s a big Netflix payday on the line?
Deontay Wilder Cashing In
Although he is well past his prime at age 41, Wilder remains among the most feared punchers in heavyweight history. He will bring a 95.65% knockout rate and a significant height and reach advantage into the fight against Opetaia.
A decade younger at age 31, Opetaia is widely regarded as a solid puncher himself and was the reigning force in the cruiserweight division until David Benavidez Jr. came along. He won the IBF cruiserweight world title in 2022. Now, he moves up to heavyweight for the biggest test of his career against Wilder.
Like Wilder, he is also an Olympian, competing for Australia in 2012 at age 16. Wilder was part of the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team and brought home a bronze medal from Beijing.
Now, he moves up to heavyweight for the biggest test of his career against Wilder, who held the WBC heavyweight world title from 2015 to 2020 and dominated as one of the hardest punchers in boxing history. He is best known for his fierce trilogy of fights against Tyson Fury between 2018 and 2021.
Wilder is 6-foot-7 to Opetaia’s 6-foot-1. Wilder has an 83-inch reach; Opetaia has a 76-inch reach. Opetaia is the better boxer, but Wilder is without a doubt still the harder puncher even in his 40s.
Wilder earned a split decision in an entertaining if messy fight against Derek Chisora in April. Opetaia scored a ninth-round TKO win over Noel Mikaelian in September on the Garcia vs Benn undercard in Las Vegas.
The Bigger Throwdown: Dana White vs Eddie Hearn
Once Netflix made the Opetaia vs Wilder fight official Wednesday, boxing observers put two and two together. Just as the “Promotergate” drama between Dana White and Eddie Hearn has subsided, it threatens to come back to life.
White is Opetaia’s promoter through Zuffa Boxing. While Hearn says the contract with Joshua for the main event with Fury guaranteed he would be the promoter, he can hardly deny White access now that one of his fighters is involved.
White wasted no time posting gleeful announcements about the fight on his social media channels.
BOOOOOM!!!! Wilder vs Opetaia is OFFICIAL in Cardiff, Wales. Wilder has a 95% knockout rate and Opetaia is undefeated 31-0. #FuryJoshua is LIVE on December 11th on @netflix https://t.co/mxKdjPV4yv
— danawhite (@danawhite) November 4, 2026
If Misfits Boxing promoter Kalle Sauerland is to be believed, he claims to have an offer on the table for a winner-take-all boxing match between the two promoters to settle their differences, with a $10 million purse at stake.
In an interview Wednesday with IFL TV in England, Sauerland claims he is “not far off” with Eddie, but he has not been in touch with White, although he says White has the offer in writing. Sauerland says the offer is genuine.
But he has also joked about staging the fight the day after the Fury vs Joshua card at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Don’t make any travel plans just yet.
What Is Jai Opetaia’s Career Path?
Since signing to Zuffa Boxing, Opetaia has been stripped of his IBF title, although he still retains the Ring Magazine belt as the lineal champion. He is, of course, the Zuffa Boxing cruiserweight champion. But Zuffa Boxing signed Opetaia in part to lure other fighters to the fold, particularly David Benavidez Jr.
Now that Benavidez Jr. is making a serious run at becoming the undisputed champion at cruiserweight and possibly taking on the previous undisputed cruiserweight champion in Oleksandr Usyk, Opetaia is left standing against the wall at the dance without a partner.
So why not try his hand at heavyweight? Belts matter a bit less in the heavyweight division. Heavyweights are a big draw, earning big money whether or not they have titles.
Wilder presents a recognizable name, and given his activity and age advantage, Opetaia and his team see it as a risk worth taking.
But Zuffa is serving up one of their biggest names to an opponent who is a serious threat. Can Zuffa Boxing and Dana White afford to have Opetaia lose to Wilder?
Wilder has nothing to lose. He’s near the end of his career. Earning a big payday lines him up improbably and nicely for a second big payday.
Imagine if Anthony Joshua defeats Tyson Fury, and Wilder beats Opetaia. Will we be rooting for this outcome to see Joshua versus Wilder in 2027? I wouldn’t hate you if you did.
Wilder also gives American boxing fans another reason to watch on December 11, aside fro the two British fighters in the main event and the Australian opponent in the co-main that many fans still don’t know.
One thing is sure: the formal announcement press conference with all players present will be must-see-TV. Stick with NY Fights for the latest coverage of Hearn vs White and Fury vs Joshua.
Gayle Falkenthal is an award-winning boxing journalist with more than four dozen awards for both written and video coverage from the Boxing Writers Association of America, Society of Professional Journalists, and San Diego Press Club, where she is the past president. She is the only woman journalist who is a full voting member of the BWAA. She is the Boxing Editor for NY Fights based in San Diego, California.
