Two of the three cruiserweight champions in the division, Mexican WBA and WBO champion Gilberto Ramirez and IBF champion Jai Opetaia, will reportedly be heading into negotiations for a unification fight, yet 41-year old WBC champion Badou Jack appears to be ignored by both fighters despite being arguably the weakest link within the current division.
Badou Jack’s (29-3-3, 17 KO’s) recent resurgence as the WBC champion of the cruiserweight (200 lbs) division would have normally made him an easy target. At the age of 41, Jack is far removed from his peak and only recently came back after an absence of two years, thereby making him the ideal candidate for a world title.
In the case of Mexican unified [WBA & WBO] champion Gilberto Ramirez (48-1, 30 KO’s) and IBF champion Jai Opetaia (28-0, 22 KO’s), Jack represents not only an easy payday but an extra belt to notch in the lead up to an undisputed fight between the two, yet it appears both fighters will face each other first.
According to The Ring, Opetaia’s manager Mick Francis has indicated plans to start a round of negotiations between the two as soon as possible to set up a unification fight for possibly this year.
This move appears contrary to the average affair in boxing where the most relevant fights are often saturated. Though the battle between Ramirez and Opetaia would be a unification title bout as they pitch their titles against one another, an undisputed fight would be a much larger affair as it would determine the outright best of the division as well as allow the winner to retain a hold over all the world titles available.
As such, the potential battle between Gilberto Ramirez and Jai Opetaia seems premature given the occasion and potential for an undisputed bout ― with Badou Jack still available following his May 3rd contest and likely not unwilling to engage in a unification fight of his own given his stated goal to become undisputed at cruiserweight.
Jack is not expected to beat either Ramirez or Opetaia at this point of his career, making him an obvious mark that appears to be benefitting from the myopic vision of both fighters’ teams. Consequently, Badou Jack could be involved in his first undisputed fight ― win or lose ― and potentially tie up a fitting end to a career that has spanned for roughly 16 years.
