Jai Opetaia and Jordan Thompson are set for their championship clash.
The pair of unbeaten cruiserweights both easily made weight for Saturday’s DAZN main event from OVO Arena Wembley in London. Sydney’s Opetaia was 198.6 pounds in the first defense of his lineal and IBF crown, while the Manchester-bred, London-based Thompson packed 198.9 pounds onto his 6’6” frame.
Opetaia (22-0, 17KOs) has not fought since his thrilling, twelve-round decision win over three-time champ Mairis Briedis last July 2 in Broadbeach, Australia. A broken jaw suffered early in the fight benched the 6’2” southpaw for the balance of the year. Shoulder surgery and back-to-back mandatory challengers dipping out of ordered title fights left Opetaia out of the ring until he was offered the opportunity to make his UK debut.
Thompson (15-0, 12KOs) enters his first career title fight. The Manchester-bred, London-based contender steps well up in competition for the occasion but is coming off a sixth-round knockout of Luke Watkins on the April 22 Joe Cordina-Shavkat Rakhimov undercard in Cardiff, Wales.
The show’s second major title fight pits newly minted IBF junior featherweight queen Ellie Scotney (7-0, 0KOs) versus former title challenger Laura Soledad Griffa (20-8-1, 1KOs).
Catford’s Scotney was 121.4 pounds for the first defense of the title she claimed in a decision victory over Cherneka Johnson just 14 weeks ago at this very venue. Argentina’s Griffa was 120 ½ pounds in her second career title bid. She fought for this very title in an August 2018 ten-round defeat to countrywoman Marcela Acuna.
DAZN main undercard (2:00 p.m. ET/7:00 p.m. GMT
Cheavon Clarke (6-0, 5KOs), Gravesend, Kent, 198.3 pounds vs. Vasil Ducar (14-6-2, 10KOs), Brno, Czech Republic, 199.4 pounds—10 rounds, cruiserweight
Jimmy Sains (pro debut), London, 162.3 pounds vs. Bartlomiej Stryczek (1-0, 0KOs), Bestwina, Poland, 162 pounds—4 rounds, middleweight
Rhiannon Dixon (8-0, 1KO), Warrington, Cheshire, 134 ¼ pounds vs. Katharina Thanderz (16-1, 2KOs), Altea, Spain via Oslo, Norway, 134.1 pounds—10 rounds, lightweight
DAZN ‘Before The Bell’ preliminary undercard (11:45 a.m. ET/4:45 p.m. GMT)
George Liddard (4-0, 3KOs), Billericay, Essex, 162.4 pounds vs. Peter Kramer (14-8-3, 10KOs), Budapest, Hungary, 160.3 pounds—6 rounds, middleweight
Ibraheem Sulaimaan (1-0, 1KO), Birmingham, West Midlands, 135 ½ pounds vs. Joshua Ocampo (8-15-5, 6KOs), Cucuta, Colombia, 133.4 pounds—4 rounds, lightweight
Shannon Ryan (5-0, 0KOs), Watford, Hertfordshire, 115.1 pounds vs. Xenia Jorneac (11-6, 3KOs), Hunedoara, Romania, 113.4 pounds—8 rounds, junior bantamweight
Maisey Rose Courtney (4-0, 0KOs), London, 114.2 pounds vs. Martina Bernile (5-2-1, 1KO), Milan, Italy, 113.1 pounds—6 rounds, flyweight
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for krikya360.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox