Jai Opetaia vs. Huseyin Cinkara Keys to Victory: Breaking down tactics of each fighter

Jai Opetaia did not get the unified cruiserweight world championship bout he wanted this year.

Perhaps Opetaia (28-0, 22 KOs) can use his IBF and The Ring titles defense against Huseyin Cinkara in Australia on Saturday night to help set that up for 2026. The bout will take place at the same Convention & Exhibition Centre in Gold Coast that the Australian native has fought in his past two fights, where he destroyed Claudio Squeo via fifth-round knockout in June and David Nyika by fourth-round KO in January.

Meanwhile, Cinkara (23-0, 19 KOs) enters the ring coming off a TKO victory over Juan Diaz in April.

Will Opetaia deliver his fourth straight knockout to end the year with an exclamation point? Or will Cinkara somehow produce the mega upset? With the stakes high, DAZN News analyzes the Keys to Victory for both the champion and challenger.

Jai Opetaia’s Keys to Victory

Make early deposits to the body

Jai Opetaia is an equal opportunist, banging away at the body with both his left and right hands.

With better feet on a younger, more mobile frame, Opetaia landing these crunching blows will only slow a 40-year-old Huseyin Cinkara down further, leaving him ripe for the picking for a more damaging shot.

Feint to the body, unload upstairs

Once Opetaia forces Cinkara to respect the body shots and lower his arms, the IBF cruiserweight world champion should look to feint to the body only to unload upstairs.

With superior hand speed, Opetaia using a tactic like this could result in absolute doom for the challenger.

Throw Cinkara into the pressure cooker

Cinkara has never been on a world stage quiet like this against a fighter the caliber of Opetaia. He told The Ring he has sparred against Oleksandr Usyk, Murat Gassiev and Illunga Makabu but being tossed into the fire with Opetaia in an actual world title fight is likely to test his mettle in a different way.

So the onus is on the champ to throw him into the pressure cooker in attempt to make it an early night.

On paper, this is a lopsided matchup. Now, Opetaia must make sure that translates into the ring as well and a burst of forward-fighting pressure is the way to do it.

Huseyin Cinkara’s Keys to Victory

Close the distance

Where Jai Opetaia is rather nimble on his feet, Huseyin Cinkara opts for slower, more methodical movement.

He must use what he has to close the distance and attempt to smother the champ, resorting to the clinch if need be.

The slower the pace of this fight, the better Cinkara’s chances will be.

Don’t telegraph shots

Cinkara is capable of unloading stiff, hard-hitting shots. Nineteen of his 23 wins coming by the way of KO tells us that. But he telegraphs some of his blows a bit too much.

Overextending and letting Opetaia know where he’s targeting with such deliberate shots will only allow the champion to feast with counterpunches.

It is hard to change the kind of fighter you are, but just being aware and conscious of this habit can help.

Keep composed

As aforementioned, everything about this fight marks unchartered territory for Cinkara.

Though he has sparred with world-class fighters, he has never fought one under bright lights in a world title bout like this.

Just the attention on this bout alone could fluster Cinkara. If the challenger gets past that, he will have to deal with Opetaia’s bundle of skills and power in both hands.

This could be overwhelming, making it all the more important for Cinkara to do the best he can to remain composed.

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