Jai Opetaia defended his Ring Magazine and Zuffa Boxing cruiserweight championships on Saturday, and did so by doing something no one else has done: stopping Noel Mikaelian. The fight took place on the undercard of Ryan Garcia vs. Conor Benn on Saturday night in Las Vegas.
Before the opening round concluded, the fighters clashed heads, leading to considerable swelling on the side of Opetaia’s face. The head-butt was a product of how Mikaelian was entering with his punches, but Opetaia continued on his standard course, moving forward and throwing sharp jabs to try and open things up for his straight left.
While the headbutt didn’t seem to affect Opetaia, Mikaelian’s right hand landing cleanly did, with Mikaelian getting Opetaia’s attention with a big shot late in the second round.
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Opetaia continued to largely control the action on the strength of being the more dynamic fighter with more tools and more speed, but Mikaelian’s right hand and short hooks were also landing cleanly with some frequency.
Opetaia was not shy about throwing his own power, however, landing plenty of heat behind his shots. This became especially true as the fight neared the midway point, with Opetaia more frequently fully sitting down on his power shots, which in turn slowed Mikaelian’s attack.
Just as it seemed Opetaia was taking the fight over fully, even with Mikaelian still competitive, Mikaelian landed a big right hand that had Opetaia clearly hurt and forced him to clinch several times. Despite the scare, Opetaia recovered and ended the round with a few big shots of his own.
Opetaia’s explosion came in Round 9, when he landed a tricky looping overhand that landed flush to Mikaelian’s face. Mikaelian was clearly hurt by the shot and began to stagger backward. Opetaia realized he had his opponent in trouble and stepped on the gas, landing a series of big shots that sent Mikaelian stumbling into the ropes.
With the ropes holding Mikaelian up, the referee called a technical knockdown. After administering an eight-count, it was clear Mikaelian had not regained his senses and the fight was waived off at the 1:37 mark of the ninth round.
“Tough as nails,” Opetaia said after the bout of Mikaelian. “I knew he was going to be experienced. I knew he was a good fighter. Who’s next?”
The answer to the question of “Who’s next?” may be David Benavidez, a fellow undefeated fighter who has held gold at super middleweight, light heavyweight and cruiserweight and who was seated in the front row.
Opetaia called Benavidez to the ring for a respectful exchange.
“I respect him,” Opetaia said. “He’s done a lot for the sport and been awesome. What better fight to make? Respectfully, let’s get it on.”
Benavidez said that the pair should meet on Cinco de Mayo, to which Opetaia said, “Done.”
As for Mikaelian, he remains the WBC cruiserweight champion after the sanctioning body chose not to sanction Saturday’s fight as a title bout.
