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    Boxing

    Eddie Hearn eager to 'push' Jai Opetaia towards fight with pound-for-pound great

    Eddie Hearn eager to 'push' Jai Opetaia towards fight with pound-for-pound greatChris Hyde/Getty Images
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    A fight between current IBF cruiserweight champion Jai Opetaia and unified heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk could be an 'all-time classic' according to promoter Eddie Hearn. 

    Hearn was ringside to see Opetaia make easy work of David Nyika on Wednesday, live on DAZN, with the former triumphing by knockout in the fourth round. 

    This performance has set up what could be a defining year for Opetaia with Usyk being mentioned as a possible future opponent. 

    An Opetaia-Usyk clash is one which excites Hearn, but before this can become a reality, the promoter was quick to point out that the quest to become undisputed at cruiserweight is the priority. 

    "For me Oleksandr Usyk is the greatest cruiserweight of all time, then he moved to heavyweight to become undisputed at heavyweight," Hearn told DAZN in the ring following Opetaia's win. 

    "Jai is going to pick up all the belts in the cruiserweight division to become undisputed, and then we want to push him into a fight with Oleksandr Usyk to try and become undisputed at heavyweight as well."

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    Hearn then heaped more praise on Opetaia claiming that the Australian is the only fighter who could cause problems for who many perceive to be the world's number one pound-for-pound fighter. 

    "You have to search for greatness, he’s good enough to do it. I believe he is the only person right now in the division, cruiserweight or heavyweight, that can give Oleksandr Usyk a real fight," Hearn continued. 

    "But to do it, we’ve got to pick up every belt in the cruiserweight division first to give him the credibility and potentially the money from His Excellency to make Oleksandr Usyk get in the ring, one of the all-time greats.

    "Trust me, in 12-18 months, Jai Opetaia versus Oleksandr Usyk is an all-time classic, and why not at the Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane on the Gold Coast."

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