By Staff Writer
Reigning World Boxing Cruiser Weight champion, Jai Opetaia, is in Samoa this week on a holiday break.
The Australian born 29 year old with Samoan heritage is hailed in world boxing circles as the ‘Worlds Best Cruiserweight’
His boxing success and strong family ties in Samoa is a promotional blessing that attracts world attention to his ancestral home.
The Samoa Tourism Authority is taking full advantage of the boxing champion’s visit to promote Samoa as a travel destination for holiday makers.
Opetaia held the International Boxing Federation (IBF) title from 2022 until 2023, before vacating the title due to a disagreement with the IBF.
He would however win the vacant title again in 2024, which he currently holds along with the Ring magazine and lineal cruiserweight titles.
As an amateur, he won a bronze medal at the 2012 Youth World Championships and represented Australia at the 2012 Olympics and 2014 Commonwealth Games.
As of February 2023, Opetaia is ranked the world’s best active cruiserweight by The Ring magazine, ESPN, and the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board, and third by BoxRec.
Opetaia was born in Sydney, New South Wales and is of Samoan heritage.
He comes from a boxing family of four generations on his father’s side and three generations on his mother’s side.
The champion boasts an undefeated record of 27 fights, with 22 wins by knockout and 5 on points.
Opetaia gave Newsline Samoa a quick insight into his success and impressive knockout record in this short video clip interview yesterday at the STA fale.