Jai Opetaia is The Ring’s cruiserweight champion, but he’s fighting more than just opponents. Smack in the middle of his physical prime and existing in a nebulous no man’s land, Opetaia is fighting odds and 45 years of divisional history.

Being 28-0 with 22 KOs looks as impressive on paper as Opetaia does in action. The Australian-born Samoan thoroughly dismantled the overmatched Claudio Squeo and scored a fifth-round stoppage in Broadbeach, Australia on Sunday, defending The Ring and IBF titles. Opetaia appeared to break Squeo’s jaw after landing an array of withering body shots, then called on unification bouts, namely with WBA and WBO champion Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramírez.

Opetaia’s quest for domination at cruiserweight mirrors what most fans and pundits want from any champion: a thorough and systematic guarantee that the division has one champion. And if stones remain unturned, flip them over, forcefully if necessary.

In an era recognizing four alphabet belts, going against competing promotional interests and collecting all belts is difficult enough to do in stacked divisions. But at cruiserweight, historically more of a stop-off than an actual destination, fighters often face the same obstacles as their lower-weight division counterparts, who struggle for attention and recognition. It makes unification bouts less lucrative and therefore unlikely.

But assuming Opetaia were able to seize the belts from Ramírez and WBC champion Badou Jack, what then for the 29-year-old? If history is any indicator, the steps leading from cruiserweight only go up.

Any cruiserweight campaign will inevitably draw comparisons to the division’s greats, specifically Evander Holyfield and Oleksandr Usyk, both of whom leveled the field before moving to heavyweight. In 1987, The Ring voted Holyfield “Fighter of the Year” over Mike Tyson on the strength of four meaningful wins at cruiserweight. Usyk similarly won the award in 2018 after three huge cruiserweight wins. And both went on to win the same award as heavyweight champions.

Unfortunately Opetaia lacked the amateur success that helped catapult Holyfield and Usyk into the spotlight early, and the logistics aren’t exactly on his side. Upper-tier fighters are expected to get in the ring twice in a calendar year these days, and Squeo, unbeaten as he was, is not the kind of opponent that significantly contributes toward a potential “Fighter of the Year” run.

Opetaia, however, does have plenty working in his favor. First, Holyfield and Usyk aren’t the only cruiserweights to have success at heavyweight, which alleviates the pressure of the odds slightly. Jean Marc Mormeck, Tomasz Adamek and David Haye all won respectable fights against the sport’s biggest men.

Additionally, Opetaia has time and physical attributes on his side. He’s the youngest of the cruiserweight champions, and has the best combination of size, skill and power. Opetaia is a better and more explosive puncher than Ramírez and Jack, and while 6-foot-2 may sound too small these days it’s within an inch of Holyfield and Usyk.

The issue of time is trickier. At 29 and 10 years into his professional career, Opetaia will feel the aches and struggles of age before long. Other top cruiserweights are tied up, meaning Opetaia will have to remain patient if he’s to stay in the division. And staying at cruiserweight means foregoing heavyweight riches and glory.

Fan desires and pundit demands are easily overshadowed by fighter necessity. Sweeping through a division like a plague is admirable, but there are bills to pay. Ultimately the focus of the cruiserweight conversation returns to how well they could do, either financially or in the ring, at heavyweight.

For all of their accomplishments at cruiserweight, Holyfield and Usyk were rewarded handsomely for moving up. Holyfield, for instance, made a career-high $250,000 in his cruiserweight rematch with Dwight Muhammad Qawi, but netted an insane $35 million for the Tyson rematch 10 years later.

Similarly, Usyk’s cruiserweight showdown with Tony Bellew, then called “the richest fight in cruiserweight history,” netted around $20 million as an event in 2018. Six years later, Usyk made $100 million in his rematch with Tyson Fury.

Those aren't the kind of numbers Opetaia can ignore forever. Especially without the same kind of name heft of Holyfield's cruiserweight run, or the benefit of Usyk's tournaments. Collectively, everyone wants Opetaia to unify with Ramírez and/or Jack, but there's little actual monetary demand pushing those fights toward negotiations.

Opetaia, The Ring's cruiserweight champion, must still consolidate power to truly rule in the division. He would be king, but of a wasteland just beyond the borders of boxing's money division. An assault on the cruiserweight division is a worthwhile endeavor, but also a temporary one.

Thus Opetaia's next step should be calculated. Will a stint as undisputed cruiserweight champion be worth the time and trouble? Or would the king of cruiserweight have better leverage for a trip north?

Opetaia has what it takes to control his own destiny, whether reigning at cruiserweight or stepping in with heavyweight giants. Four of his last six opponents never experienced professional defeat before Opetaia stopped them all inside the distance, and the other two were highly ranked.

But they were just men. Opetaia has defeated many of those, knocking out most of them. Lurking beyond them is history, the weight of 45 years suggesting Opetaia is more Carlos de León or Marvin Camel than Holyfield or Usyk.

Opetaia turns 30 later this month and time runs shorter. Whatever he decides, an uphill battle awaits him.