With a few massive boxing fights coming up this weekend, this IBF cruiserweight title fight is getting overlooked by many fans–especially in the United States. In Wembley Arena this Saturday, Jordan Thompson and Jai Opetaia will face each other in the ring to battle for a world title.
Read more for a closer look at this very interesting cruiserweight title fight, and get the official Thompson vs Jai Tapu prediction ahead of making your picks this weekend.
Jordan Thompson vs. Opetaia Jai Tapu Information
Jordan Thompson vs Opetaia Jai Tapu
Location of the fight: Wembley Arena, Wembley, London, England
Date and Time: Saturday, September 30. 5:00 PM ET estimated ring walk
How to Watch: DAZN
Last Fight Results
- Thompson is coming off beating Luke Watkins via TKO in the 6th round to win the IBF European Cruiserweight title.
- Opetaia is making his return after beating the legendary Mairis Briedis in a hard-fought decision, winning the IBF world title in July of 2022.
Thompson vs. Jai Tapu Betting Analysis
Jordan Thompson
Thompson is a 30-year-old British boxer with a professional record of 15-0 and 12 wins coming via KO. He’s ranked 13th by the WBO and 5th by the IBF at cruiserweight.
Thompson fights out of the orthodox stance, and he stands at an impressive 6’6” and is one of the tallest cruiserweights ever. After earning the IBF European title, he has set himself up to take on this massive world title shot with an 80% KO rate coming into this weekend.
Jai Opetaia
Opetaia is an Australian boxer with a professional record of 22-0 with 17 KOs under his belt as the current IBF world champion at cruiserweight. Standing at 6’2” with a 76” reach, he will be at a disadvantage in length this weekend. He fights out of the southpaw stance and brings both slick boxing abilities and world-class power to the ring.
Opetaia started his boxing career as a very successful amateur, where he won a gold medal at the World Junior Championships in 2011 and even represented Australia in the 2012 Olympics.
He pulled off an upset win over future hall of famer Mairis Briedis last summer, where he fought with a broken jaw for multiple rounds in that fight.
Jordan Thompson vs. Opetaia Jai Tapu Betting Preview
Boxing matches like this one can be the birth of the next superstar and legendary champion. Before we get to the Thompson vs Jai Tapu prediction, let’s take a closer look at the betting lines available this weekend and look at some tape of previous performances from both men.
According to the boxing odds, Opetaia is coming into enemy territory as the -650 betting favorite. Thompson is the +420 underdog and has a +750 line to win via KO on Saturday. The champion is -110 to win via KO as well.
After watching the tape on both of these high-level athletes, there are a lot of factors to think about while betting on this fight. The biggest one has to be the fact that Opetaia is coming off breaking his jaw. In the past, fighters have been able to return like they’ve never left, but quite a few never get to be the same fighters as before the injury.
Weighty Concerns
Thompson has the physical advantage in this matchup. He is a massive cruiserweight who is used to overpowering his opponents. He won’t be able to quite do that against someone like Opetaia, so this will be his biggest test by far.
Also, a question to have about Thompson is whether or not these weight cuts go well at this point in his career. A bad weight cut can really impact the condition of his legs and even his chin.
Opetaia is a southpaw, so that opens up the straight backhand shots for both guys. The Australian uses his feet much better and can move around the ring, cut angles, and really give a fighter that comes straight forward like Thompson a difficult time.
Opetaia also has the advantage in focus, meaning he has been able to keep focus and stay strong over 12 rounds against elite talent before–which is a trait only the best champions have.
Thompson vs. Jai Tapu Betting Prediction
- The official Thompson vs Jai Tapu prediction is that Opetaia will have to fight through some pressure early on, but he will end up outclassing Thompson from round 3 and on–leading to a late-round stoppage victory.
The moneyline isn’t very valuable to bet on, so if you want to risk it a bit more, take Opetaia winning in rounds 7-12 at +185.
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