Jai Opetaia breezed past Brandon Glanton to become the inaugural Zuffa world cruiserweight champion with a unanimous-decision win in Nevada.
All three judges scored the fight 119-106 in the Australian’s favour as he extended his unbeaten record as a professional to 30-0 in his first fight in the United States.
Opetaia could be stripped of the IBF cruiserweight championship after that body refused to sanction this latest bout but he is aiming to unify the division, saying afterwards: “I’m chasing the belts.
“I know there’s been a lot of white noise and stuff, a lot of stuff on social media, but I’m just hoping it gets worked out and we can still chase that goal.
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Australian Opetaia extended his record as a professional to 30-0
“I have not lost track of it. I’ve been stripped once before. I’ve been stripped again. I’ll get the belt back, and I’ll become undisputed.”
Although Opetaia was unable to add to his 23 career knockout victories, he dominated Glanton with powerful shots – uppercuts proving particularly effective.
Glanton was deducted points in rounds six and eight for holding and low blows as he struggled to land any meaningful offensive strikes.
To his credit, Glanton refused to buckle and came through a potent left hand in the final round to avoid the knockout before suffering his fourth career defeat.