It would have taken a miracle for Claudio Squeo to upset the highly skilled Australian boxer Jai Opetaia at the Gold Coast Convention Centre in Broadbeach and take home the IBF world cruiserweight title. Unfortunately, events unfolded exactly as expected. The pugilist from Apulia did his best but couldn’t make it past the fifth round, succumbing to a brutal right hook to the jaw. Opetaia will now aim to unify the world titles before moving up to the heavyweight division.
The bout began at a rather slow pace, with Squeo wisely choosing not to rush in, opting instead to study his dangerous opponent. Opetaia, in turn, was content to control the distance during the opening round, occasionally probing with his sharp lead left.
The challenger tried to raise the tempo in the second round and, for brief moments, managed to surprise the powerful Australian by pushing him against the ropes and landing a few hooks to the head and body. However, Squeo is more of a grinder than a heavy puncher, and Opetaia didn’t appear to be particularly troubled by his power, quickly regaining composure and control of the action.
From the third round on, the champion began to up the pace, and despite Squeo’s efforts to maintain a tight defense and circle to his left to avoid Opetaia’s lethal left hand, he began to suffer. A body shot in particular seemed to have a noticeable impact, forcing the Italian to spend the final moments of the round in constant retreat.
The first truly critical episode came in the fourth round, when a vicious uppercut from Opetaia landed squarely to Squeo’s midsection, sending him to his knees in pain. Luckily for him, referee Robert Hoyle was not in the right position to accurately assess the blow and mistakenly ruled it a low shot, verbally warning Opetaia and giving Squeo time to recover.
Although the Italian managed to drag himself to the end of the round without going down again, the conclusion was merely postponed. Early in the sixth, Opetaia trapped Squeo in the corner and landed a perfect right hook to the jaw. The challenger immediately showed signs of being hurt, dropped to one knee once again, and waited for the referee’s count to end without attempting to get up.
Jai Opetaia will now look to convince Mexico’s Gilberto Ramirez—holder of the WBA and WBO cruiserweight belts—to agree to a unification bout to prove he’s the undisputed number one in the division. It would be a fascinating matchup that the Australian wants to win before turning his attention to the heavyweight ranks and further expanding his legacy.
Claudio Squeo returns home empty-handed but with the awareness that the technical gap between him and his opponent was too wide for any real regrets. It would now be interesting to see him face other top Italian cruiserweights in a domestic showdown. A bout against Jonathan Kogasso, in particular, could draw a strong crowd and deliver plenty of action.