Deontay Wilder vs Jai Opetaia Officially Added to Fury vs Joshua Card in Cardiff

Deontay Wilder will face Jai Opetaia on the Tyson Fury vs. Anthony Joshua card on Friday, December 11 at Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Wales.

Turki Alalshikh announced the bout Wednesday morning on X.

Netflix confirmed it in a release shortly after.

“Deontay Wilder takes on Jai Opetaia on the Tyson Fury vs Anthony Joshua fight card,” Alalshikh posted, alongside a Netflix and Ring Magazine fight poster billing the event as “Boxing’s Biggest Night.”

The full card streams live globally on Netflix.

Netflix described the matchup in its announcement as Opetaia, “the cruiserweight champion,” moving up to heavyweight to face Wilder, “one of the biggest punchers in boxing history.”

The streamer also pushed the news across its social channels.

The announcement ends weeks of speculation.

The matchup was first reported in early October by Ring Magazine’s Mike Coppinger, who said a Wilder vs. Opetaia heavyweight fight was being explored for the Cardiff undercard after talks between Wilder and Oleksandr Usyk fell apart.

Dana White, whose Zuffa Boxing promotes Opetaia, then confirmed to Sky Sports that negotiations were underway.

“Jai Opetaia is more than likely going to be on the undercard,” White told Sky Sports.

“Wilder is one that we’ve been talking about and working on.

But he’s a fighter.

He’ll fight anybody, even at heavyweight with a guy who hits as hard as Wilder does.”

Wilder’s manager Shelly Finkel told Dan Rafael around the same time that the Wilder camp had already said yes.

“They’ve accepted offer for Wilder to face Jai Opetaia in the co-feature and are awaiting word if it’s a go,” Rafael reported.

Rafael later reported on October 30 that both sides had reached an agreement, with contracts still to be signed.

Wednesday’s announcement closes the loop.

The fight marks Opetaia’s heavyweight debut.

The 31-year-old Australian, 31-0 with 24 knockouts, has ruled the cruiserweight division as a two-time IBF titleholder and has long said he intended to move up.

He has also been chasing a showdown with David Benavidez, who fights Michal Cieslak for the WBC cruiserweight title on December 5.

Opetaia is expected to return to 200 pounds after Cardiff, which raises its own questions about adding weight for Wilder and then taking it back off for Benavidez.

Wilder, 45-4-1 with 43 knockouts, brings the biggest right hand in the sport and a complicated history with the man in the main event.

He fought Fury three times, drew the first meeting in 2018 and was stopped in the two rematches.

Wilder is on his last leg, and a defeat by a smaller foe should be the nail in the coffin, according to analysts at 3Kings Boxing.

In his last outing against two-time champion Norair Mikaeljan, Opetaia took several right hands.

In the fight against Wilder, he will have to be mindful of the former champion’s powerful right hand.

But many observers note that Wilder is no longer the same fighter.

In boxing, power is the last thing a fighter loses as they age.

However, Wilder mentally and perhaps physically isn’t the same man who used to stop a fight instantly with one punch.

He took two brutal beatings in a trilogy with Fury.

Furthermore, his defeat at the hands of Joseph Parker and a knockout loss to Zhilei Zhang have sunk his stock.

In the Parker fight, he seemed afraid to pull the trigger.

In addition, Wilder’s overall boxing ability has seriously faded.

Moreover, he takes more incoming fire and his punch resistance isn’t there anymore.

Wilder is doing what most fighters do when they stay in the sport too long – clinging to false hope.

In one analyst’s opinion, he is being used as a resume booster and should be forced to retire following a loss, especially if he gets knocked out.

Dana White’s involvement in the event has also drawn attention.

There is no love lost between Joshua’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, and Dana White.

There was debate as to whether the fight between Joshua and Fury would go ahead at all, and White’s involvement in the fight placed the fight in jeopardy before it had even been announced.