Dana White says there is a ‘really good chance’ a big-name heavyweight fighter is added to the Tyson Fury vs Anthony Joshua card.
Fury vs Joshua tops a huge bill at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium on December 11. Netflix will air the all-British showdown, with White set to produce the event.
In order to satisfy the American market, Fury and Joshua will make their way to the ring in the early hours of December 12 in a move that has been slammed by boxing fans online.
As for the undercard, several names have been linked to the event, including boxing legend Manny Pacquiao, who has been rumoured to welcome Amir Khan back to the ring.
But UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland won’t be on the card after threatening to quit MMA as he called for a boxing bout against cruiserweight world champion Jai Opetaia.
Dana White Dismisses Idea of Sean Strickland Facing Jai Opetaia
Strickland was seemingly in line to defend his UFC title against top contender Nassourdine Imavov at UFC 335 in December. But the promotion ultimately went with a BMF title clash between Charles Oliveira and Diego Lopes, with the American holding out for more money.
At Friday’s Power Slap event, Nina Drama asked White about Strickland’s pursuit of Opetaia.
She asked the UFC CEO: “Your boy Sean Strickland wants to box Jai Opetaia,” before asking: “How do you think that goes?”
White replied: “Listen, I don’t think it ever goes good crossing over to boxing with the MMA. But Strickland is a tough guy and has hands.”
When Nina asked if that meant there was a chance, White dismissed the idea altogether.
Dana White Reveals Big-Name for Tyson Fury vs Anthony Joshua Card
In rejecting Strickland’s quest to box Opetaia, White revealed who’s in the frame to land on the Fury vs Joshua undercard.
He said there’s a ‘really good chance’ former world heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder faces Opetaia, who would move up to heavyweight.
White revealed: “There’s a really good chance Jai Opetaia fights Deontay Wilder. There’s a really good chance of that.”
Nina responded: “That would be a great fight.”
Veteran boxing reporter Dan Rafael claims Opetaia vs Wilder is in the works as the co-feature in Wales.
Wilder’s manager Shelly Finkel told Fight Freaks Unite: “I’ve had conversations and I’m waiting for them to get back to me about Dec. 11. All things being equal Deontay would like to fight (WBA titleholder Murat) Gassiev. When I brought it to the people at Zuffa and with Turki they said they weren’t interested.
“They were interested in Deontay against Opetaia and I said, ‘Fine. This is what we’re looking for’. We went back and forth and they said OK to a number but I haven’t heard back from them so we are also talking to Gassiev’s people.”
Wilder is on a two-fight winning streak and hasn’t fought since his victory over Derek Chisora in April. Opetaia, on the other hand, defended his Zuffa Boxing and The Ring cruiserweight titles and won the WBA (regular) cruiserweight belt against Noel Mikaelian on the Ryan Garcia vs Conor Benn undercard last month.
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