Jai Opetaia needs a new opponent in a hurry.

The Jan. 8 show will move on but without Germany's Huseyin Cinkara, who suffered torn ligaments in his ankle during training and was forced to withdraw. Opetaia was due to defend The Ring and IBF cruiserweight championship versus his mandatory challenger atop a DAZN show from Gold Coast Convention Centre in Broadbeach, Australia.

There is now a mad dash to find a credible replacement, though the 200-pound king is not overly concerned.

"My opponent might change but my mindset doesn't," Opetaia (26-0, 20 KOs) posted Sunday on his social media channels. "Locked in for January 8."

Cinkara (22-0, 18 KOs) was due to enter his first career title fight. The 39-year old from Istanbul, Turkey via Speyer, Germany defeated Armend Xhoxhaj via second-round knockout in their April 27 IBF title eliminator in Nurnberg, Germany.

The win is his best to date, which speaks to the urgency of fighting for a title, given his advanced age.

Cinkara would have challenged for the crown just five days before his 40th birthday. That dream will have to wait as he will need at least three months to physically recover before he can enter a fresh training camp.

“It’s unfortunate that Huseyin won’t be able to compete," Mick Francis, head of Tasman Fighters, who co-promotes Opetaia along with Matchroom Boxing, noted in a company statement. "But we’re close to securing a replacement. We are currently negotiating with several top-ranked boxers from within the IBF rankings and expect to announce Jai’s next opponent by Monday.

"Fans can rest assured this will remain an exciting and high-stakes fight. [Matchroom Sport chairman] Eddie Hearn and Spencer Brown (Goldstar Promotions) have been fantastic in working through this situation with the IBF and other potential opponents.”

Sydney's Opetaia won The Ring championship at the very venue where he will next attempt his fifth defense. He claimed the crown and the IBF belt in a thrilling July 2022 win over Mairis Briedis (28-3, 20 KOs).

Opetaia made one successful IBF defense before he was stripped for failure to honor a mandatory rematch against Briedis. Ironically, Briedis didn't fight during that period all the way up to their rescheduled May 18 second act, which saw Opetaia saw a repeat win in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

A knockout victory over Jack Massey on Oct. 12 marked Opetaia's third straight bout in Riyadh. He is currently in the city to support sparring partner and heavyweight hopeful Demsey McKean (22-1, 14KOs), who faces Moses Itauma (10-0, 8 KOs) in supporting capactiy to the Oleksandr Usyk-Tyson Fury Ring/unified heavyweight championship rematch this Saturday.

Opetaia is expected to have a fresh opponent for which to at least mentally prepare. As far as the defending champion is concerned, though, that part is merely filling in the blank.

"We have a job to do," theorized Opetaia in a video released by Tasman Fighters "We got to make sure we're one-hundred percent and ready to go, no matter who is on the other side of that ring."