Jai Opetaia has now lost his IBF cruiserweight title for a second time outside of the ring.
The sanctioning body announced Monday that it has formally stripped the Australian of his world championship following a meeting held by the IBF this past Thursday, where the decision was made.
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Per an IBF ruling read obtained by Uncrowned:
“On March 19, 2026, the IBF Board of Directors met via teleconference to address the status of the IBF Cruiserweight title held by Jai Opetaia. At the conclusion of the meeting, the Board voted to vacate the title pursuant to Rule 5.H. The IBF Cruiserweight title is vacant.”
Opetaia signed with Dana White’s Zuffa Boxing this past January and, in February, announced that his debut for the company would be against Brandon Glanton on March 8 at the Meta Apex in Las Vegas.
The artwork for Opetaia’s bout with Glanton — alongside the press release — indicated that the contest would be for the “Zuffa World Cruiserweight Championship,” making no mention of Opetaia’s position as IBF champion.
Tasman Fighters’ Mick Francis, Opetaia’s co-promoter alongside Zuffa Boxing, requested IBF sanction for Opetaia’s bout with Glanton later in February. The sanctioning body denied the request, citing IBF Rule 5.E.2, which disallows unification bouts except for the recognized WBA, WBC or WBO titles.
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Francis argued that having the Zuffa and IBF belts would not make it a unification, but rather the Zuffa belt would accompany the IBF in the same way the IBO belt has previously. Request for sanction remained denied, though, because the IBF argued that Zuffa is not subject to the same federal regulatory framework governing sanctioning bodies like the IBO.
In early March, another request for sanctioning was made, but this time by Sean Gibbons of Manny Pacquiao Promotions. Joshua Dubin, an attorney for Opetaia, confirmed to the IBF on March 3 that “Zuffa Boxing … will not bill or otherwise promote the bout as a ‘unification,” also stating that “[any] belt awarded will be characterized as a trophy or token of recognition.” Gibbons, reportedly, made similar representations.
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Following those representations, sanctioning was approved. However, at a March 6 press conference, it became apparent to the IBF that Opetaia vs. Glanton would still be for the “Zuffa World Cruiserweight Championship,” and so sanctioning was withdrawn and the bout became “unsanctioned.”
Opetaia went through with his bout against Glanton, winning a shutout unanimous decision and lifting the Zuffa belt following his win.
The IBF discussed the status of Opetaia at a meeting this past Thursday, and followed Rule 5.H., which allows it to strip champions for taking part in unsanctioned contests — which it chose to do so.
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Opetaia previously vacated his belt in December 2023 after the IBF would not grant sanction of his bout against Ellis Zorro and was set to strip him for taking part in an unsanctioned fight, rather than discharging his mandatory obligation against Mairis Briedis.
Chris Billam-Smith will likely be ordered to face the victor of the April 4 IBF cruiserweight title eliminator bout between Mateusz Masternak and Viddal Riley — on the Deontay Wilder vs. Derek Chisora undercard — for the now-vacant IBF championship.
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