{"id":594678,"date":"2025-11-26T09:07:25","date_gmt":"2025-11-26T09:07:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/594678\/"},"modified":"2025-11-26T09:07:25","modified_gmt":"2025-11-26T09:07:25","slug":"australias-best-boxer-opens-up-about-the-shocking-snub-hes-been-dealing-with-his-whole-life-and-his-anger-over-nrl-stars-plight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/594678\/","title":{"rendered":"Australia&#8217;s best boxer opens up about the shocking snub he&#8217;s been dealing with his &#8216;whole life&#8217; &#8211; and his anger over NRL star&#8217;s plight"},"content":{"rendered":"<ul class=\"mol-bullets-with-font\">\n<li class=\"class\"><strong>Cruiserweight world champion fights on December 6\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"author-section byline-plain\">By MICHAEL PONTICELLO <\/p>\n<p class=\"byline-section\"> Published:  20:47 EST, 25 November 2025   |  Updated:  20:50 EST, 25 November 2025   <\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">Undefeated Australian boxer Jai Opetaia\u00a0has revealed how he&#8217;s been given the cold shoulder by major boxing promoters \u2013 and leaped to the defence of Samoan-Australian\u00a0<a style=\"font-weight: bold;\" target=\"_self\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/sport\/nrl\/index.html\" id=\"mol-0cfd2010-c9be-11f0-a449-ab72df4ab6b3\" rel=\"noopener\">NRL<\/a> star Payne Haas.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">The owner of the IBF and The Ring cruiserweight titles will make his return to the ring on December 6 in a mandatory defence of his crowns against H\u00fcseyin Cinkara on the <a style=\"font-weight: bold;\" target=\"_self\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/news\/gold-coast\/index.html\" id=\"mol-0cf04ed0-c9be-11f0-a449-ab72df4ab6b3\" rel=\"noopener\">Gold Coast<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">Opetaia is currently 28-0 in professional fights, but he&#8217;s aware of the challenges 40-year-old Cinkara poses.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">&#8216;You don&#8217;t get to that position by accident. There&#8217;s obviously a lot of hard work, and he&#8217;s done his job right to get there,&#8217; Opetaia exclusively told the Daily Mail.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">The 30-year-old has recently received strong backing from boxing legend Danny Green, who claimed that he doesn&#8217;t receive the status he deserves because he isn&#8217;t managed by one of Australia&#8217;s main promoters.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">Opetaia has now revealed how long he&#8217;s been dealing with being repeatedly overlooked while other fighters get far more mainstream coverage.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>   <img decoding=\"async\" id=\"i-3b87c2120bb03d94\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/104187193-15323445-image-a-1_1764108218653.jpg\" height=\"423\" width=\"634\" alt=\"Jai Opetaia (pictured) is one of Australia's best-ever fighters - but boxing great Danny Green doesn't think he gets the credit he deserves\" class=\"blkBorder img-share\" style=\"max-width:100%\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>   <\/p>\n<p class=\"imageCaption\">Jai Opetaia (pictured) is one of Australia&#8217;s best-ever fighters &#8211; but boxing great Danny Green doesn&#8217;t think he gets the credit he deserves<\/p>\n<p>  <img decoding=\"async\" id=\"i-b8a32c4239dd96f7\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/104187609-15323445-image-a-10_1764108534961.jpg\" height=\"747\" width=\"634\" alt=\"Opetaia defeated\u00a0Italy's Claudio Squeo (both pictured) in the most recent Ring Magazine and IBF World cruiserweight titles bout in June\" class=\"blkBorder img-share\" style=\"max-width:100%\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>  <\/p>\n<p class=\"imageCaption\">Opetaia defeated\u00a0Italy&#8217;s Claudio Squeo (both pictured) in the most recent Ring Magazine and IBF World cruiserweight titles bout in June<\/p>\n<p>  <img decoding=\"async\" id=\"i-f85e3acc81618959\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/104162413-15323445-image-m-6_1764120069970.jpg\" height=\"585\" width=\"634\" alt=\"\" class=\"blkBorder img-share\" style=\"max-width:100%\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>  <\/p>\n<p class=\"imageCaption\">The Aussie fighter (pictured) has never been beaten since turning pro at 19 years old<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">&#8216;To be honest, I&#8217;ve been dealing with this stuff my whole life,&#8217; Opetaia said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">&#8216;I&#8217;ve always gone against the grain and done things different, and broken records, and never got the publicity.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">&#8216;I don&#8217;t sit here and pout. I&#8217;ve always said that all I gotta do is focus on the job, and the rest will fall into place, which now it seems like it is.&#8217;<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">The undefeated boxer, who boasts Samoan heritage, has also defended Haas after he was slammed for changing his allegiance from Australia to Samoa in international football.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">Haas announced he&#8217;d take to the field for Samoa in a stunning move ahead of the Pacific Championships tournament last month.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">&#8216;No one has walked a day in his shoes,&#8217; Opetaia said.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">&#8216;No one knows where he&#8217;s from or the way he was raised.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">&#8216;I feel like it&#8217;s ridiculous people even f**king talk s**t about it.&#8217;<\/p>\n<p>   <img decoding=\"async\" id=\"i-d4c6b16cc613e777\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/104187531-15323445-Opetaia_hails_from_a_family_with_strong_sporting_pedigree_as_he_-a-4_176411981801.jpeg\" height=\"577\" width=\"634\" alt=\"Opetaia hails from a family with a strong sporting pedigree as he is related to Socceroos legend Tim Cahill and former NRL star Ben Roberts\" class=\"blkBorder img-share\" style=\"max-width:100%\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>   <\/p>\n<p class=\"imageCaption\">Opetaia hails from a family with a strong sporting pedigree as he is related to Socceroos legend Tim Cahill and former NRL star Ben Roberts<\/p>\n<p>  <img decoding=\"async\" id=\"i-3383c10273518de8\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/104189171-15323445-image-m-25_1764110986906.jpg\" height=\"706\" width=\"634\" alt=\"The Aussie boxer (pictured in Samoan apparel) is very proud of his Samoan heritage and attended the Pacific Championships match between Samoa and Tonga last month\" class=\"blkBorder img-share\" style=\"max-width:100%\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>  <\/p>\n<p class=\"imageCaption\">The Aussie boxer (pictured in Samoan apparel) is very proud of his Samoan heritage and attended the Pacific Championships match between Samoa and Tonga last month<\/p>\n<p>   <img decoding=\"async\" id=\"i-f1668c59dfef2486\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/104187333-15323445-Payne_Haas_pictured_made_a_shock_defection_to_Samoa_last_month_a-m-21_17641102310.jpeg\" height=\"656\" width=\"634\" alt=\"Payne Haas (pictured) was slammed for his shock defection to Samoa last month after playing four games for Australia\" class=\"blkBorder img-share\" style=\"max-width:100%\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>   <\/p>\n<p class=\"imageCaption\">Payne Haas (pictured) was slammed for his shock defection to Samoa last month after playing four games for Australia<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">Although Opetaia\u2019s lack of mainstream exposure doesn\u2019t faze him, he revealed he had been in contact with No Limit, the promoter with a monopoly over the best fighters in Australia.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">&#8216;I think we&#8217;ve had a few discussions, but I&#8217;ve been with Tasman Fighters for a long time,&#8217; he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">&#8216;It was never about leaving Tasman Fighters and going to No Limit (completely). It was more seeing if we could all work together.&#8217;\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">The news comes as Opetaia laid down the gauntlet for influencer-turned-fighter Jake Paul, who famously beat Mike Tyson in a match which broke new ground in terms of viewership late last year.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">&#8216;Obviously if he (Jake Paul) f**king offered me some money, 100 per cent (I would fight him). Who wouldn&#8217;t bash Jake Paul for a couple mil?&#8217; he told\u00a0<a style=\"font-weight: bold;\" class=\"class\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DRdRajNkrws\/?hl=en\">Stan Sport<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">Paul and Tyson&#8217;s fight attracted 65 million viewers worldwide last November.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">But Opetaia&#8217;s priority for the moment is overcoming H\u00fcseyin Cinkara and taking another step towards unifying all the belts in the division.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>                    Share or comment on this article:<br \/>\n                        Australia&#8217;s best boxer opens up about the shocking snub he&#8217;s been dealing with his &#8216;whole life&#8217; &#8211; and his anger over NRL star&#8217;s plight<\/p>\n<p>        <script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Cruiserweight world champion fights on December 6\u00a0 By MICHAEL PONTICELLO Published: 20:47 EST, 25 November 2025 | Updated:&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":594679,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4108],"tags":[186,1935,92,2915,30118,93,79,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-594678","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-boxing","8":"tag-australia","9":"tag-boxing","10":"tag-dailymail","11":"tag-exclusive","12":"tag-nrl","13":"tag-sport","14":"tag-sports","15":"tag-uk","16":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115615213545969821","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/594678","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=594678"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/594678\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/594679"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=594678"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=594678"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=594678"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}