Jai Opetaia takes on Brandon Glanton in Las Vegas on Sunday night and our Chris Oliver previews the fight with a best bet.
Boxing betting tips: Saturday action
1pt Jai Opetaia to win by decision 9/4 (Sky Bet, Paddy Power)
Jai Opetaia is aiming to make a statement when he makes his Zuffa Boxing debut against Brandon Glanton in the early hours of Monday morning in Las Vegas.
Opetaia was the first marquee signing by Dana White’s new promotional outfit, who are already making big waves in the sport and have promised not to work with the traditional sanctioning bodies, and the inaugural Zuffa cruiserweight title is on the line here.
That leaves Opetaia’s position as the IBF cruiserweight champion in doubt, but he has moved to Zuffa to raise his profile and to make more money, and that all begins this weekend.
With a perfect 29-fight record and 23 knockouts, Opetaia is regarded as the number one fighter at 200lbs, but he has failed to secure the unification matches so far and the Australian southpaw needs those big fights sooner rather than later.
Glanton (21-3) may not be the huge name he is craving but the American is a solid operator and is capable of giving the champion a good fight. He is best known to fans on these shores for losing a decision to Chris Billam-Smith at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium last April, when he pushed the Brit hard early on before losing the second half of the fight.
That was his third defeat, but they have all come on points and he has never been stopped. The 34-year-old bounced back to winning ways with a good victory over Marcus Browne (RTD6) in October and gets this big opportunity on home soil.
However, the betting gives you an indication of his task at hand with 12/1 available about the American, while Opetaia is a best price of 1/12.
After six defences of his world title and having turned 30 years old, Opetaia is in his prime right now and he will be looking for another stoppage, having rattled off a trio of highlight reel knockouts in Australia on his last three outings.
They all came against unbeaten foes, but their records were nothing to write home about and it is fair to say that facing Glanton represents a step back up in class for Opetaia.
Only former champion Mairis Briedis has gone the distance (twice) with Opetaia in his last 11 contests, and it is just 8/11 that he wins by stoppage again here. Given his heavy hands and aggressive nature, it’s easy to see why he is odds-on for another early night, but is there value in that price?
For someone who stands at 6’2”, Opetaia has excellent speed of hand and foot, a good jab and serious power in his left hand. He closes the distance very well and looks to land the heavy artillery from the get-go.
However, as well as being a puncher, he is also a very adept boxer, and we have seen him revert to those tactics when he couldn’t budge the durable Briedis in their two fights.
Glanton comes forward and that will put him in the firing line, but he is very durable and has a good engine. If he can come through the early onslaught and keep on the front foot, then he could force the Australian to use his feet a little more and abandon his gung-ho tactics.
We saw Glanton caught clean on a few occasions against Billam-Smith, and he was never deterred from marching forwards, so he may be capable of taking the best of what Opetaia has to dish out and make the latter work hard for the victory.
If Glanton can get through the opening few rounds, which is very possible given his solid chin, then the fight going the distance becomes a real possibility and the 9/4 for Opetaia to win by decision could represent some value.
Posted at 1240 GMT on 06/03/26
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