By Ray Wheatley – World of Boxing

IBF cruiserweight champion Jai Opetaia is looking forward to defending the IBF title in 2023 and possible unification bouts with WBA champion Arsen Goulamirian, WBC champion Ilunga Makabu, and WBO champion Lawrence Okolie.

“I’m at the table with the world champs now, I’m not playing in the backyard anymore,” Opetaia told Wide World of Sports. “I’m on the world stage. I’m a world champion. There’s like seven billion people in the world, I’m the #1 cruiserweight in the f**king world, bro.

“How many people get to say that? And that was just the start, that was my first world title fight. I’ve fought the best and I’ve beat the best, and now I want more, I’m not done.

“They’ve thrown a few names around, mandatories, and going over to England – but I don’t give a f**k who I fight next. All I want is to get paid what I deserve, and I’ll fight anyone.

“Everyone wants to fight for a world title, everyone is calling me out. They mean nothing. World champions are born in the gym, they’re born out of years of dedication.

“They are not just that, ‘Oh I’m going to call him out.’ That’s that showbiz shit. They’re getting mixed up with the fight game and show business because you’ve got YouTubers and shit fighting. Your mouth doesn’t get you fights, hard work does.”

“We’re in a position to conquer this whole f**king thing, like we can turn Australian boxing into something huge.”