Deontay Wilder Set to Face Jai Opetaia

Boxing fans with tickets to watch Fury against AJ in Cardiff on December 11th will be unexpectedly treated to a rare appearance of "The Bronze Bomber", Deontay Wilder on British soil. Better still, his opponent won't be there just to make up the numbers. In the opposite corner will be the undefeated two-time cruiserweight champion, Jai Opetaia.Opetaia has long planned a move up to heavyweight, but a debut against a high-profile former champion shows that he has no interest in gently easing himself into the higher weight division.Of course, at 41, Wilder is not the force he once was in his championship days, when he compiled a spectacular series of knockouts that prompted some observers to label him the hardest-punching heavyweight of all time.Wilder's right hand was a fearsome weapon for sure, but it has to be said that his knockout victims were not of the highest calibre. The likes of Artur Szpilka and Johann Duhaupas are hardly legendary opponents. His best win was against the Cuban southpaw, Luis Ortiz, who had a statistically impressive record that looked disappointing on closer inspection. Tyson Fury managed to recover from heavy knockdowns against a prime Wilder and defeat him. Since then, Deontay has lost to Zhilei Zang and Joseph Parker.The timing and snap that made Wilder's right hand so potent have faded, but it is still a dangerous punch. He's coming off a decent win over Derek Chisora in which he almost stopped the durable slugger. At 6'7, Wilder will enjoy a five-inch height advantage over Opetaia, but this will not be a tale of David and Goliath. Wilder has a slender frame and extremely skinny legs. He has normally weighed in at the lower end of the heavyweight range. While Jai will be looking up at him, he shouldn't be giving up much in mass.At 32, Opetaia is probably approaching his peak now. He's a fast, mobile southpaw with good power and workrate. He is also fiercely determined. He gets hit quite a lot though and has been hurt badly at times, most notably against Mairis Briedis when his jaw was broken.Such an open defence would have spelt disaster against the Wilder of five years ago, but he may be able to get away with it against today's version.Opetaia was being talked about as a potential opponent for Oleksandr Usyk. But with the Ukrainian now planning a move down in weight to take on David Benevidez, it seems they are moving in opposite directions.