Jai Opetaia retained his Ring and IBF cruiserweight titles with a destructive fifth-round stoppage victory over Claudio Squeo at Queensland's Gold Coast Exhibition Centre, live on DAZN.

Heading into the bout, Opetaia spoke of his desperation to fight for unified and undisputed honours, but with the requisite opponents tied up in other dealings, the Australian would be forced to fight another man deemed levels below the standard.

And levels below he was, as Opetaia once again put on a vicious power-punching display to push his record to 28-0, 22 KOs.

"I was in a rush, I really wanted to get him out of there, I'm chasing these unification fights, it's frustrating," Opetaia said in the ring after.

"We did what we had to do, we've got a lot more to go. I'm chasing these world champions, that's what I'm focussed on. Next fight — Zurdo Ramirez, let's get it on. I'm chasing those belts, let's go.

"I'm not here to badmouth him, but the fight is easy to make. We are ready."

Squeo weighed in 8lbs lighter than Opetaia on Friday and the size and height differences were clear the moment they touched gloves before the opening round.

Opetaia took the early stages to figure out his shorter opponent's rhythm. In the meantime, Squeo would find a home for his right hand on a few occasions, landing clean on Opetaia several times.

The lack of respect Opetaia had for Squeo's power was evident. The home fighter marched forward and ripped to the body with his left before throwing right hooks to the head. Whatever came back his way would be shrugged off.

In the fourth round, one of Opetaia's body shots came while he held the back of Squeo's head and therefore received a warning from American referee Robert Hoyle.

The reprieve would only last a round for Squeo, however, as just 32 seconds into the fifth, Opetaia finished things emphatically with a right hook to his man's face. Squeo, not dazed but clearly hurt, looked to have potentially broken his jaw and so remained on his right knee for the entire 10-count.

Opetaia's eyes will now shift towards his fellow champions at cruiser. Ramirez, the WBA and WBO titleholder, takes on Yuniel Dorticos on June 28. WBC champ Badou Jack may have rematch business to undertake with Noel Mikaelian later this year, too.

"October is the date we're talking about, Turki Alalshikh has been talking about this fight for quite a while. But it's up to them, they need to say, 'Yes, we're here, we're ready, let's make it happen,'" Opetaia's manager Mick Francis said.

One thing's for sure, Opetaia won't let those opportunities get away and he'll continue to wait patiently, just as he has done for much of his career.