Jai Opetaia's world title defense against Claudio Squeo has been postponed until June 8 after the Ring Magazine champion suffered a minor injury during training camp.
The undefeated Australian had been scheduled to put his Ring and IBF cruiserweight titles on the line against the 17-0 (9) Italian at the Gold Coast Convention Centre on Tuesday, May 13.
However Opetaia’s injury has forced the fight to be pushed back a few weeks with the pair now set to clash on Sunday, June 8 at the same venue.
Jai’s manager Mick Francis said: “Being the animal that Jai is in the ring, he takes no opponent lightly.
“He wants to be 100 percent fit to defend his IBF and Ring Magazine Cruiserweight World Titles. Under doctor’s orders, we have pushed the fight back by three weeks to ensure Jai is in top form for the bout.”
Opetaia is currently 27-0 (21) after his most recent outing, a devastating fourth-round knockout of David Nyika in Australia on January 8.
It was his fourth inside distance victory in the five fights since he won the titles via unanimous decision following a memorable 12-round war with Mairis Briedis in July 2022.
Opetaia has made no secret of his desire to make a unification fight with the current WBA and WBO champion Gilberto ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez but must first successfully navigate his defense against Squeo.