{"id":471542,"date":"2026-03-12T13:39:09","date_gmt":"2026-03-12T13:39:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/471542\/"},"modified":"2026-03-12T13:39:09","modified_gmt":"2026-03-12T13:39:09","slug":"devin-haney-says-jai-opetaia-needs-better-opponents","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/471542\/","title":{"rendered":"Devin Haney Says Jai Opetaia Needs Better Opponents"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Asked if Opetaia\u2019s showing against Brandon Glanton proved he belongs among boxing\u2019s elite, Haney wasn\u2019t ready to go that far.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t say,\u201d Haney said on the Inside The Ring show when asked if Opetaia showed pound-for-pound quality. \u201cI think Jai is good. I think he rises to the level of his competition. When he fights a lot better guys, it\u2019ll bring the best out of him. But right now, I\u2019m not impressed with him. I think he has skills. I see the ability. I just think once we see him against better guys who are a real threat to him, we\u2019ll see more of his arsenal.\u201d<\/p>\n

Veteran reporter Mike Coppinger made a similar point while discussing Opetaia\u2019s standing during the same segment.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe hasn\u2019t shown that he\u2019s great,\u201d Coppinger said. \u201cHe could show that, but he hasn\u2019t faced the competition. We need to see him against the winner of Benavidez vs. Zurdo, which we all expect to be Benavidez. He finally gets a super fight, and we find out, \u2018Is Jai great?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Opetaia has dominated most of the opposition placed in front of him, but the level of those opponents continues to be debated. His two fights with Mairis Breidis remain the most demanding bouts on his record, and both were difficult contests despite Breidis being in the later stages of his career at 37 and 39.<\/p>\n

Opetaia fights a careful, technical style that relies on movement, timing, and clean counters rather than trading punches. The approach has worked well against the opposition he has faced so far.<\/p>\n

Some observers believe that style will be tested more severely once he begins facing opponents who apply constant pressure and force a faster pace.<\/p>\n

A fight against someone like David Benavidez, known for pushing forward and throwing punches in volume, would give a clearer idea of how Opetaia handles that kind of attack. For now, many feel his biggest tests are still ahead of him.<\/p>\n

Ken Woods has been a senior writer at Boxing News 24 since 2013, covering the sport from every angle. With years of ringside reporting, he delivers fight news, results, and analysis that cut through the noise. Ken\u2019s work consistently spotlights champions, contenders, and rising prospects, giving fans a sharp, knowledgeable view of the global boxing scene.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Asked if Opetaia\u2019s showing against Brandon Glanton proved he belongs among boxing\u2019s elite, Haney wasn\u2019t ready to go…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":471543,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[41],"tags":[2560,101,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-471542","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-boxing","tag-boxing","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/471542","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=471542"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/471542\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/471543"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=471542"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=471542"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=471542"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}