Jai Opetaia (22-0, 17 KOs) is set to defend his IBF cruiserweight title against Jordan Thompson (15-0, 12 KOs) at the OVO Arena Wembley in London, as announced by Matchroom Boxing.
ESPN’s second-ranked cruiserweight, Opetaia clinched the title in July 2022 with a unanimous decision victory over Mairis Briedis. Aged 28, the Sydney native will be competing outside of Australia for the first time since February 2017.
Meanwhile, Thompson, a 30-year-old power puncher hailing from Manchester, England, boasts an impressive record. He has secured stoppages in seven of his last eight bouts, which includes a sixth-round KO triumph over Luke Watkins during the Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov-Joe Cordina event in Cardiff, Wales earlier this year.
Watch the weigh-in live from London, United Kingdom: Watch
In addition to this headlining bout, the co-main event will spotlight IBF junior featherweight champion Ellie Scotney defending her title against Laura Soledad Griffa (20-8, 1 KO). London’s Scotney (7-0, 0 KOs), at 25, dominated Cherneka Johnson in June, achieving a unanimous decision victory. Remarkably, this will be her third consecutive bout at the OVO Wembley Arena. In contrast, Griffa from Buenos Aires, Argentina, embarked on her professional boxing journey in 2014. At 37, she now steps into the ring for the first title bout of her extensive career.
Main card:
▪️Jai Opetaia vs. Jordan Thompson, 12 rounds, for Opetaia’s IBF cruiserweight title ▪️Cheavon Clarke vs. Vasil Ducar, 10 rounds, for vacant IBF International cruiserweight title ▪️Jimmy Sains vs. Bartlomiej Stryczek, 4 rounds, middleweight ▪️Rhiannon Dixon vs. Katharina Thanderz, 10 rounds, for vacant EBU European lightweight title ▪️Ellie Scotney vs. Laura Soledad Griffa, 10 rounds, for Scotney’s IBF super bantamweight title
Preliminary card:
▪️George Liddard vs. Peter Kramer, 6 rounds, middleweight ▪️Ibraheem Sulaimaan vs. Joshua Ocampo, 4 rounds, lightweight ▪️Shannon Ryan vs. Xenia Jorneac, 8 rounds, super flyweight ▪️Maisey Rose Courtney vs. Martina Bernile, 6 rounds, flyweight
