Jai Opetaia may have produced one of the knockouts of 2025, but the IBF cruiserweight champion left the Gold Coast Convention Centre frustrated with himself. Moments after stopping Huseyin Cinkara inside eight rounds, Opetaia stunned listeners by calling his own performance “terrible” and admitting he had become “a bit complacent.”
The 30-year-old Australian unleashed another destructive finish, leaving Cinkara motionless on the canvas before the challenger was rushed to hospital and diagnosed with a fractured neck. Yet Opetaia, whose face showed more damage than expected, revealed he suffered a suspected fractured eye socket and now is likely to delay his planned early-2026 return.
Opetaia said his dissatisfaction came from the mistakes he felt he shouldn’t have been making. “I needed to be humbled a bit,” he admitted. “My legs were gone, my body wasn’t keeping up with me. I shouldn’t be getting hit that much from someone like that.” He insisted the issues were visible from the opening bell, long before Cinkara began to fade from body shots and the frantic pace.
The emotional weight of the past month may also have played a part. Opetaia’s assistant trainer, Keri Fiu, died unexpectedly during a training session with another fighter, and the champion delivered a heartfelt tribute at Fiu’s funeral. Entering the ring to Fiu’s favourite song left him “trying to fight back tears,” though Opetaia stopped short of blaming the turmoil for his uneven performance. “It’s been a massive rollercoaster,” he said. “But we got the win, and we improve.”
Despite the injury and his harsh self-assessment, Opetaia remains unbeaten in 2025 with three destructive title defenses, reaffirming his status as the world’s top cruiserweight. Still, he stated plainly that this win did not earn him time off. “I haven’t earned my fun yet,” he said. “I promise you - I’m gonna come back better.”
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