Deontay Wilder to meet unbeaten Jai Opetaia on Cardiff bill

Deontay Wilder will fight Jai Opetaia in a heavyweight contest serving as the co-main event for Tyson Fury's showdown with Anthony Joshua at Cardiff's Principality Stadium, organisers confirmed on Wednesday.

The bout pairs a 41-year-old former WBC heavyweight champion against an unbeaten cruiserweight king making his first serious move up in weight, and will be screened as part of a card streaming live worldwide on Netflix, according to the Guardian.

Opetaia, 31, has never fought beyond cruiserweight and has not competed at heavyweight since 2017, Yahoo Sports reported. The Australian southpaw is unbeaten in 31 professional contests, with 24 by knockout.

He captured the IBF cruiserweight title by beating Mairis Briedis in 2022 and has since ruled the division, signing with Dana White's Zuffa Boxing organisation in 2026. Since then he has won the promotion's inaugural cruiserweight belt against Brandon Glanton in March and defended it with a ninth-round stoppage of Noel Mikaelian in September.

Wilder, by contrast, is the man stepping into unfamiliar territory in reputation rather than weight. He held the WBC heavyweight title from 2015 to 2020, making ten defences before losing it to Fury, against whom he went on to lose an epic trilogy, suffering a draw and two defeats across the series.

His career appeared to be drifting towards its end after a one-sided loss to Joseph Parker and a brutal knockout defeat to Zhilei Zhang in June 2024, a result that also derailed a potential fight with Joshua, the BBC reported.

Since then Wilder has rebuilt with back-to-back wins, over journeyman Tyrrell Anthony Herndon and former world title challenger Derek Chisora, breaking what Yahoo Sports described as a 1-4 run of results. His record now stands at 45 wins, four defeats and one draw, with 43 of those victories coming by knockout.

The fight was confirmed alongside an announcement from UFC chief executive Dana White, whose role in the Fury v Joshua promotion had been questioned by promoter Eddie Hearn, Yahoo Sports noted.

Tickets for the main event sold out in under an hour despite the eye-catching scheduling. The BBC reported that ring-walks for Fury against Joshua are expected to begin around 01:00 GMT on Saturday 12 December, following a short live music performance, with the stadium remaining open until 03:30.

The WBA 'super' heavyweight title will be on the line in that headline contest. The rest of the undercard has yet to be confirmed, though Welsh former IBF super-featherweight champion Joe Cordina is thought to be in negotiations to face Manny Pacquiao, according to the BBC.

For Wilder, victory over a naturally smaller man moving up in weight would mark a significant step back towards heavyweight's top table after years of turbulence. For Opetaia, it represents the biggest test yet of a cruiserweight reign that has brought him dominance but, until now, no opportunity against a fighter of Wilder's stature.

Further undercard announcements are expected in the build-up to 11 December, with attention also turning to whether the Cordina-Pacquiao fight is finalised in time to join the Cardiff bill.