With the IBF stripping him of its cruiserweight title, Jai Opetaia‘s dreams of becoming an undisputed champion are on hold – at least for now. But that’s only one hurdle in front of him. He could also lose his Ring title if he fails to meet one of the required conditions to retain the championship.

The situation escalated after the IBF ruled his inaugural fight against Brandon Glanton on the Zuffa card unsanctioned and reconsidered his title status. The update follows reports that the New Jersey-based sanctioning body was having second thoughts about its earlier position. At the same time, Opetaia’s team has been exploring legal action in response to the IBF’s sanctioning withdrawal. As that process unfolds, the Ring title has also entered the equation, putting him at risk of being left with only the Zuffa belt, which still lacks formal recognition.

“The IBF has officially stripped Jai Opetaia of his cruiserweight title,” Dan Canobbio tweeted. “He’s also in jeopardy of losing his Ring Magazine belt (per their rules) since he has not fought a top-five ranked opponent since May 2024 in Mairis Briedis.”

Canobbio, a respected boxing broadcaster, shared a screenshot of the rules outlined in the Ring guidelines. According to the policy, a champion may have to vacate the title if he loses a fight in his weight class and/or if he moves to a different weight class and remains there for more than one fight.

Additional rules state that a fighter loses the title if he retires, does not schedule a fight in his weight class for 18 months, fails to face a top-5 contender within two years, or tests positive for PEDs.

Among those clauses, the requirement to face a top-5 contender within 24 months appears most relevant to Jai Opetaia’s current situation.

Another belt battle for Jai Opetaia

Behind Opetaia, Ring Magazine ranks Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez and Chris Billam-Smith as its top two cruiserweight contenders. Michal Cieslak (WBC interim), WBC champion Noel Mikaelyan, Ryan Rozicki, former titlist Badou Jack, Leonardo Mosquea, Robin Sirwan Safar, Viddal Riley, and Yamil Alberto Peralta round out positions three through ten.

Opetaia has been a Ring champion since defeating Mairis Briedis in 2022. That victory also secured him the Latvian’s IBF title. After defending the belt, however, he was forced to relinquish the IBF title following its insistence that he face the mandatory challenger, Briedis. Instead, Opetaia vacated the belt and fought Ellis Zorro in defense of his Ring title.

A few months later, on May 18 at the Usyk-Fury I card, he reclaimed the vacant IBF title by defeating Briedis while retaining the Ring Magazine belt. In the fights that followed, up to his most recent bout before the Zuffa debut against Huseyin Cinkara, he defended both titles.

As Dan Canobbio noted, since the Briedis rematch, none of Opetaia’s opponents have held contender rankings in the Ring roster, a detail that now carries added significance.

It remains unclear how the IBF’s latest decision will affect the legal action Opetaia is considering. According to him, despite the organization not sanctioning his fight, he followed its rules, including the same-day weigh-in.

“I honestly don’t know what’s going on,” Opetaia said after the Glanton fight. “I just try to keep doing my thing. I’ve respected the belt (and) done everything in my power to keep the belt. I had the double weigh-in (and) abided by their rules. I’m really hoping they can put the nonsense aside.”

Now, with the Ring belt also under scrutiny, the outcome of both the IBF ruling and any potential legal challenge could significantly shape the next phase of Opetaia’s career.