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Jai Opetaia has a much-awaited rematch with Latvia's Mairis Briedis in Riyadh next month in a battle his manager Mick Francis hopes will be for the IBF title.
Jai Opetaia will have his cruiserweight rematch with Mairis Briedis on the historic Tyson Fury-Oleksandr Usyk card in Saudi Arabia on February 17, with the Opetaia camp hopeful it will double as an IBF world title fight.
Opetaia famously defeated Latvia's Briedis on the Gold Coast in 2022 for the IBF world title despite having his jaw broken twice during the fight.
He also claimed the prestigious Ring Magazine title, which he still holds.
The unbeaten Australian (24-0) was then controversially forced to vacate the IBF title when he elected to fight Englishman Ellis Zorro for a $680,000 Riyadh pay day in December last year.
The IBF had demanded that Opetaia fight Briedis instead, despite the Latvian being injured at the time.
Now the stars have aligned for the arch rivals to do battle in Riyadh on a card where heavyweights Fury and Usyk will contest the division' s first ever four-belt unification fight.
"The only thing that isn't decided with Jai and Briedis is the IBF title side of it," Opetaia's manager Mick Francis told AAP from Qatar.
"I've heard the Mexican Gilberto Ramirez pulled out of the first bid today so that frees up Jai and Briedis to fight each other for the IBF cruiserweight champion of the world.
"That hasn't been confirmed but it's a 90 per cent chance it will be in the next 24 or 48 hours.
"Either way they will still fight for the Ring Magazine title. Briedis wants his revenge over Jai but when you consider the way Jai beat him in 2022 and the circumstances he beat him under...I think he is in for a big night.
"This is the biggest fight that could be had in the cruiserweight division and it will be on the biggest card of the year."
Opetaia and Francis were on their way to Riyadh where they will join Fury's camp in the leadup to the February 17 showdown.
"We will be there for a few weeks which will be a great experience for Jai," Francis said.
In other boxing news, Francis confirmed undefeated Australian heavyweight Justis Huni would have a March 8 fight in Riyadh on the undercard of the heavyweight clash between Anthony Joshua and Francis Ngannou.
"It has been in the making for a while. It is hard to get an opponent for Justis because there aren't many that want to jump up and fight a kid that is 8-0," Francis said.
"There are about four or five names floating about and while we haven't identified an opponent as yet we hope to in the next 48 hours.
"This fight is a good opportunity for Justis, as Jai did, to fight on a massive platform to further catapult his career.
"It is the exposure he has been looking for."
