Jai Opetaia vs Ellis Zorro fight analysis
He may have been forced to vacate his IBF World cruiserweight title, but he’s still The Ring magazine champion and No.1 cruiserweight, but now Jai Opetaia (23-0, 18KO) will face England’s Ellis Zorro (17-0, 7KO) over 12 non-championship rounds this Saturday, December 23, in Saudi Arabia.
From south London, 31-year-old Zorro is quite probably the biggest underdog of the entire eight-fight event in Riyadh this weekend.
The Bromley boxer has jumped up a few levels to grab this opportunity with both hands. Prior to this fight with the undefeated Ring magazine champion, the Brit had won back-to-back WBO European title fights, firstly against Hosea Burton in May this year, then to Italian Luca D’Ortenzi, inflicting a fourth loss on each opponent’s record. Even prior to those title fights, he had a bruising battle with Dec Spelman, where he was able to knock him down in the fourth from a left to the bidy, but was then given hell right up to the final eighth-round bell, winning 77-74 on points.
He was able to stop Tyson Fury’s cousin, Hosea Burton, in seven rounds, after being behind; moving on to win a unanimous decision over D’Ortenzi in October. However, Burton has since retired and D’Ortenzi fell to his third defeat within five fights, so the brace of victories and the level they were fought at will not provide adequate preparation for a step-up like Opetaia.
The Aussie is unbeaten in 23 bouts with 18 KOs. He defeated Mairis Briedis by unanimous decision to claim the IBF cruiser crown last year, which he defended to the ‘Troublesome’ Jordan Thompson in September with a fourth-round KO.
Opetaia isn’t invincible, but he is very heavy-handed, durable, aggressive and dangerous. He had Thompson taking big hits on the ropes in the very first round of their fight, and every round until the early finish. He can switch stance and is always shifting his feet to find new angles. His backhand left from the southpaw stance is very strong and looks like it lands painfully.
He likes to fight at long to mid-range where he is able to apply pressure whilst maintaining space for his rangy shots. He is quite bouncy on his toes, like an amateur, his style even looks similar to Oleksandr Usyk, but Opetaia puts more weight behind his punches.
He can be hit, but he hits back harder… much harder!
Betting Odds
1/18 Opetaia
12/1 Zorro
28/1 Draw
Predictions
Kudos to Zorro for stepping up, I really hope he gives a great account of himself on the biggest boxing stage of the year, but this is a step too far, too soon. Jordan Thompson was brave enough to do the same and looked what happened there – one-sided annihilation.
Zorro has had close scraps with Hosea Burton and Luca D’Ortenzi at WBO European level, so jumping up against a Ring titleholder is such a huge jump up in levels and it’s very likely that Opetaia will do exactly the same to Zorro as what he did to Thompson.
Verdict: Opetaia to win by knockout within rounds 1-6.
