Wilder and Opetaia Fight Explored for Fury-Joshua Card

A proposed fight between Deontay Wilder and Jai Opetaia is being explored for the Tyson Fury-Anthony Joshua card scheduled for December 11 in Cardiff, but it has not been officially confirmed. UFC chief Dana White said there was a “really good chance” the bout would take place. Wilder’s manager, Shelly Finkel, said Wilder’s side had agreed to terms and was waiting for final sanctioning. That account does not establish that the fight has received approval or been added to the card. The matchup would bring cruiserweight champion Opetaia up to heavyweight to face former WBC heavyweight champion Wilder. The Fury-Joshua event is scheduled for Cardiff’s Principality Stadium, with Netflix set to broadcast it. No undercard fights have been confirmed in the reports. Finkel said discussions had also taken place with the team of WBA titleholder Murat Gassiev. He said Wilder would have preferred that option, but that the people he approached were not interested, after which discussions turned to Opetaia. Finkel described Wilder’s side as agreeing to a proposed number, while saying he was still waiting to hear back.