Jai Opetaia sues IBF, alleges wide-ranging conspiracy
· Yahoo Sports
Darshan Desai at Uncrowned reports that former IBF cruiserweight champion Jai Opetaia has filed suit against the sanctioning body, alleging a conspiracy on the part of the WBA, WBC, WBO, former promoter Eddie Hearn, and others to punish him for signing with Zuffa Boxing.
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The IBF stripped Opetaia (30-0, 23 KO) of the belt ahead of his Zuffa debut this past March, characterizing his bout with Brandon Glanton for the Zuffa title an unsanctioned unification. Opetaia swept Glanton on all three scorecards and intended to follow up with a crack at WBC champion Noel Mikaelian, only for Mauricio Sulaiman to order a three-belt unification between Mikaelian and David Benavidez that Opetaia cites as evidence of punitive collusion.
Per Desai, Opetaia “is seeking reinstatement as IBF cruiserweight champion, damages, attorneys’ fees and costs, and an injunction preventing the sanctioning body from naming a new cruiserweight champion while the litigation is pending.” Opetaia claims that “evidence supporting this conspiracy exists in group text messages and WhatsApp conversations.”
Here’s the thing: would a shadowy, nefarious plot be beyond the realm of possibility? Hell, no. I’d be more shocked if these sorts of things weren’t happening on the regular. I just can’t understand what Opetaia expected after signing with Dana White, who said in the most unambiguous terms imaginable that he had no interest in working with the sanctioning bodies. This isn’t a case of not checking the fine print, bud.