Jai Opetaia's first defence of his IBF cruiserweight world title could come against a Kiwi in December. Photo / Getty Images
Jai Opetaia's first defence of his IBF cruiserweight world title could come against a Kiwi in December. Photo / Getty Images
An IBF title will be on the line at the Fight For Life next week, with the winner carving themselves a pathway to earn the right to challenge for a world title in December.
The professional cruiserweight bout between Jerome Pampellone and Joshua Francis will now be for the IBFAustralasian title, with Fight For Life promoter Dean Lonergan getting confirmation from the IBF on Thursday.
With the title on the line, the winner will likely land in the top 15 of the IBF world rankings which would make them eligible to challenge for the organisation's world title – held by Australian Jai Opetaia.
Opetaia, who Lonergan promotes, handed Mairis Briedis just the second loss of his 30-fight career earlier this month when he claimed a unanimous decision win over the Latvian to take the IBF and The Ring cruiserweight world titles. The win saw Opetaia improve to 22-0 in his career and earn the No 1 ranking among all cruiserweights from record-keeping website BoxRec.
Opetaia broke his jaw in the bout and is expected to be out of action until December, where he could make a voluntary defence of his titles against either Pampellone or Francis.
"Whoever was to win that fight, I'd probably want to fight them at least once, maybe twice more in Australia to raise their profile against some Australian cruiserweights," Lonergan told the Herald.
"It's not just a case of winning one fight, but whoever won that, I'd have real interest in making sure they were built up in both markets so we can do a decent pay-per-view on both sides of the Tasman."
Joshua 'Chucky' Francis is on an 11-fight winning streak. Photo / Photosport
By boxing laws, Opetaia has to defend his titles against the mandatory challenger every nine months but is welcome to take voluntary defences in the meantime if the opportunities are there. Lonergan believes a bout against either Pampellone or Francis would be a good business decision for the reigning champ.
"Everything has to be discussed through with Jai, because he's the champ and there are certain things he wants to do and achieve. What my job is to do is to set up all the opportunities and sit down and say these are the ones I think are smart.
"The reason I think fighting a Kiwi would be smart is that it opens another market. I think New Zealanders would fall in love with Jai. He's a very humble young man, he doesn't trash talk – he's very much in the Joseph Parker mould."
Francis, the NZPBA champion in the weight class, fighting out of Shane Cameron Fitness, is a fighter on the rise. He boasts a 12-1-1 record, with his sole loss coming in his professional debut. He has won 11 fights in a row, with nine of those coming by stoppage.
Pampellone, who Lonergan also promotes and fights out of Peach Boxing, comes into the bout unbeaten in 12 professional appearances and, while a natural light heavyweight, he has proven the step up to cruiserweight is no issue for him. Both athletes like to take the fight to their opponents, which sees this bout shape up as a very fan-friendly affair.
Opetaia is a known quantity to Pampellone, with the 26-year-old having sparred with his Australian counterpart in the lead up to Opetaia's bout against Briedis. By all accounts, Pampellone more than held his own in these sessions.
Jerome Pampellone is unbeaten in 12 professional bouts. Photo / Photosport
Should Pampellone come out as the victor, Lonergan said he had no concerns with pushing him toward that title shot despite the majority of his career being fought at light heavyweight.
"I think he can go between the two pretty freely," Lonergan said. "You don't have to get right up to the cruiserweight limit to fight there.
"I get on very well with Isaac Peach, who is the trainer and manager of Jerome, and we've talked about this at length. Isaac just loves the opportunity. He loved the opportunity of getting Jerome to spar with Jai, and he'd love the opportunity to fight Jai.
"It's my job to create opportunities for guys in my stable, and Jerome is one of those guys. If it makes sense to bring them together, we'd be mad if we don't."
Fight For Life
Auckland, July 21, 7pm
Keven Mealamu v Wairangi Koopu Jerome Pampellone v Joshua Francis (pro bout) Andrei Mikhailovich v Francis Waitai (pro bout) Liam Messam v James Gavet Carlos Spencer v Paul Whatuira Jay Reeve v Tammy Davis Honey Hireme-Smiler v Tegan Yorwarth
Available on Sky Arena or Sky Sport Now pay-per-view for $49.95.
