The Australian cruiserweight champion Jai Opetaya got the opportunity to keep his IBF belt, despite a serious conflict with the organization.
A day before the fight with American Brandon Glanton under the Zuffa Boxing promotion, the International Boxing Federation (IBF) unexpectedly withdrew the fight's sanction. This happened even after Opetaya had fully paid all the necessary sanction fees.
Initially, the IBF warned that participation in an unsanctioned fight would automatically lead to the loss of the title. However, after confident statements from the Australian's team about their readiness to take the dispute to court, the organization preferred to suspend the final decision.
"The status of the IBF cruiserweight world champion title remains under discussion for now. Jai Opetaya's comments at the post-match press conference raised doubts among the leadership about whether his representatives fully communicated all the necessary steps needed before going into the ring against Brandon Glanton," stated the IBF in an official statement. "We plan to thoroughly investigate the situation."
Recall that last weekend, Opetaya defeated Glanton on points, becoming the first Zuffa Boxing champion.
