Boxing Mailbag: Should the IBF Have Stripped Jai Opetaia of the Cruiserweight Title?

Opening up the Mailbag for your questions on Jaron Ennis–Vergil Ortiz, Devin Haney–Rolly Romero, the MVP-ESPN deal and more …

Should the IBF have stripped Jai Opetaia? It seemed to me he did everything he was supposed to do to keep the belt. Your thoughts?
—Robert, San Antonio

Let’s unpack this a little …

On the belt, I’m with Opetaia on this one, Robert. Zuffa, which signed Opetaia to a multi-fight deal, has publicly declared war on the sanctioning bodies and in time no fighter in the promotion, including Opetaia, will compete for an alphabet belt. And sanctioning bodies, keenly aware that they are in Zuffa’s crosshairs, are understandably sensitive to that.

Still, Opetaia doesn’t deserve to be stripped. And as of this writing, I’m not certain he has been. He made weight. Brandon Glanton, who Opetaia wiped out on Sunday, was in the IBF’s top 15. Zuffa paid his sanctioning fee, a source told Sports Illustrated. The IBF belt was displayed at this week’s press conference and Opetaia expressed repeatedly in interviews that he wanted to pursue undefeated status in the cruiserweight division.

The IBF’s reasoning for yanking the sanction on Opetaia-Glanton—that Zuffa’s belt did not qualify as a “unification” and that Opetaia’s team misrepresented its significance—is bogus, too. The IBF has routinely rubber-stamped unifications involving lesser titles like, say, the IBO. And the IBF knew the Zuffa belt—which, for the record, can’t be considered a real belt, as Zuffa has not yet succeeded in ramming home legislation that allows them to create it—was going to be on the line for weeks. Why accept the fee and fly out a supervisor only to pull the plug days before the fight?

Here's why: These sanctioning bodies don’t just want fees. They want to be feted. They want to be treated like celebrities, instead of the anonymous suits they are. If Zuffa had made a bigger deal of the IBF title, if they had promised to allow IBF officials free reign of the UFC Apex, if they treated them the way Matchroom, Top Rank, PBC and other top promoters do, I believe we wouldn’t be in this position.

But here we are. “These guys are going to do all the work for us,” UFC president Dana White said this weekend, speaking on the sanctioning bodies—and he’s right. The IBF could have accepted its fee, swallowed its pride and let Opetaia defend his title. They would have gotten the belt back eventually, perhaps after ordering Opetaia’s mandatory. Instead, they look childish and petty, while Opetaia looks like the only one involved doing the right thing.

I feel for Opetaia. Frankly, I don’t think he wanted to sign with Zuffa. He just didn’t have any other options. His deal expired with Matchroom and his own team admitted it couldn’t make it financially viable for him to continue to fight in Australia. When Zuffa came along with a seven-figure offer, he had to take it.

But he wants to fight for the alphabet belts. Badly. In his post-fight interview he repeatedly steered the conversation back to them. His deal with Zuffa makes that goal more challenging. He may still keep his IBF belt—White hinted at a lawsuit after the fight, a lawsuit I can tell you the IBF is terrified of—and perhaps there’s a Riyadh Season deal that can be made to see Opetaia fight the winner of the May showdown between Gilberto Ramírez and David Benavidez. If that happens, all of it can work out. If it doesn’t, Opetaia may be stuck defending a belt he doesn’t really want.

This MVP-ESPN deal feels big for women’s boxing. Any details?
—Edward, Long Island

It’s a solid deal, Edward. ESPN is leaning harder into women’s sports, making the WNBA and NWSL a major part of its weekend programming. The network recently announced plans for “Women’s Sports Sundays” this summer, effectively replacing Sunday Night Baseball, which is headed to NBC. While the first two U.S. shows will take place on a Friday and Saturday, respectively, I would expect MVP events to eventually be part of that Sunday lineup.

Can they make the big fights? The initial slate is a little underwhelming. Alycia Baumgardner defending her titles against Bo Mi Re Shin is fine, but why isn’t Baumgardner, the 130-pound champion, defending them against Amanda Serrano, the queen of 126? Holly Holm is a combat sports legend and an accidental headbutt did stop her 135-pound fight against Stephanie Han early. But Han was dominating the fight at the time of the stoppage. Shadasia Green is a fun fighter at 168-pounds. But the fight boxing fans want to see her in is against Claressa Shields, not an opponent (Lani Daniels) Shields recently wiped out.

Ultimately, MVPW will be judged by its matchmaking. The Jake Paul–fronted promotion has signed up most of the top women’s talent so regularly making big fights should be easy. If they can do it, women’s boxing will have the biggest platform in the business. If not, it won’t last long.

Mannix! What’s really going on with Boots and Vergil?
—Malik, Camden, N.J.

It’s ugly, Malik. For the uninitiated: In January, Vergil Ortiz sought judicial confirmation that his contract with Golden Boy had been terminated, citing his promoter’s inability to live up to the terms of the contract. Golden Boy turned around and secured a temporary restraining order that prevented Ortiz from signing a multi-fight deal with Matchroom Boxing that would have begun with an Ennis fight. Last week, a judge kicked the can down the road, ordering the two sides to work it out in arbitration. Meanwhile everyone from Oscar De La Hoya to Ortiz’s manager, Rick Mirigian, to Ortiz’s father, Vergil Sr., have weighed in.

I can tell you that behind the scenes there are ongoing talks to work all this out. Ortiz is not going back to Golden Boy. He said it, and you can believe him. There’s no scenario where this ends with Ortiz as a Golden Boy fighter. The question is, can Golden Boy be compensated—either financially from Ortiz or from DAZN [usual disclaimer: I call fights for DAZN] in the form of a new rights deal—to walk away? And can it happen quickly enough to put an Ortiz-Ennis fight back together?

I’ll add this: I think it would behoove Golden Boy to get something done. While the judge’s ruling has been interpreted as a win for them, it was really just a delay. I’ve talked to several boxing lawyers who have reviewed the legal filings and all of them feel that Ortiz still has a strong case to terminate his contract. The smart move for Golden Boy would be to settle the case, collect some cash, get a new deal done with DAZN and move forward.

You have been beating the drum for Devin Haney–Ryan Garcia II. Now I’m reading about Haney–Rolly Romero? What gives?
—Dean, Austin, Texas

So talks between the Haney and Romero camps are real, I’m told. Romero’s team made Haney an offer and I think he’d like to find a way to accept it. Haney’s dream is to unify the 147-pound division and he would be a big favorite against Romero if they ever got in the ring.

Still … I want to see Haney–Garcia II. Like, I need to see Haney–Garcia II. All the drama from the first fight, all the bad blood between the two sides. The rematch would be a monster. Book T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, put together a multi-city press tour and watch the money roll in.

I’m not sure how this plays out. I know why Romero is pressing so hard. He’s staring at a long overdue mandatory defense against Shakhram Giyasov and only a unification fight can block that. But Haney is expensive. Can PBC, backed by Amazon, come up with enough money to satisfy him? Will Turki Al-Sheikh get involved to make it work? It will probably be a few weeks before we find out.

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