Following the IBF’s withdrawal from sanctioning the bout between Jai Opetaia and Brandon Glanton at Zuffa Boxing 4, many expected the situation to get messy. Now, with only a few days left before the fight, Dana White’s boxing champion has already started knocking on legal doors to drag the IBF brass into court.

On Tuesday, the undefeated Australian boxer’s attorney reportedly sent a legal letter to the IBF. The letter stated that the boxing sanctioning body punished him and other athletes for working with Zuffa Boxing.

“Product of coordinated, industry-wide collusion designed to punish him for working with Zuffa Boxing and to deter other athletes from doing the same,” The Ring Magazine report stated. “Aided and abetted by other sanctioning bodies and promoters, the IBF’s action intentionally inflicted (or threatened to inflict) significant financial and reputational harm on Mr. Opetaia. He is aware of messages between high-level executives essentially admitting to the scheme.

“You are receiving this preservation notice because Mr. Opetaia believes you possess documents, communications, and information related to his potential claims against the IBF, Mr. Peoples, WBC, WBA, WBO, Matchroom Boxing, other entities, and individuals,” they added.

For those unfamiliar, Opetaia, the reigning IBF champion, wanted to defend his title against Brandon Glanton. He followed all the necessary protocols, paid the required sanctioning fees, and even made the cruiserweight limit according to the IBF’s rehydration guidelines. Even so, the sanctioning body refused to authorize the belt to be on the line in a Zuffa Boxing fight and also considered stripping Opetaia of the IBF title.

That decision stirred the pot massively between the newly crowned champion, Zuffa, and the IBF. Stepping in to support Opetaia, Dana White fired back at the IBF and even warned that lawsuits would follow, which now appears to be coming true. As a result, tensions between the two major parties have escalated rapidly.

Now, amid the New South Wales native’s legal action against the IBF, Opetaia has finally broken his silence on the issue and urged the body to stop what he believes is pure nonsense. 

Jai Opetaia fires back at IBF after winning at Zuffa Boxing 4 events

Although the battle appears to be between Dana White’s new-age Zuffa Boxing and the traditional IBF, it is also true that Jai Opetaia has found himself at the center of the collision. The Australian boxing sensation gave blood, sweat, and tears to win the IBF cruiserweight championship in 2022. So naturally, he would want to hold on to that glory.

However, since the IBF has refused to allow his title to be on the line and even considered taking the belt away, Opetaia believes the sanctioning body is unnecessarily dragging the situation while he can only wait and prepare for his next fight.

“I honestly don’t know what’s going on,” Opetaia said after the fight. “I just try to keep doing my thing. I’ve respected the belt, done everything in my power to keep the belt. I had the double weigh-in and abided by their rules. I’m really hoping they can put the nonsense aside.”

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“The beef is not between me. It’s the outside causing conflict, and I’m the only one who’s suffering. But at the same time, it is what it is. What can I do? Train hard and work for the next one,” he added.

So what exactly is the suffering here? Well, Opetaia didn’t mention, but as a recognized champion, a sanctioning body usually expects its titleholder to defend the belt roughly every 90–120 days. In that case, Opetaia last defended the IBF cruiserweight title on December 5 last year, and the next defense would likely have been scheduled around April. But since he fought in March, meeting that timeline becomes nearly impossible, which means the IBF could potentially strip him of the belt due to inactivity.

That said, will Jai Opetaia, Zuffa, and the IBF eventually find common ground in this dispute? Let us know in the comments section below.