Zuffa Boxing cruiserweight champ Jai Opetaia (31-0, 24 KOs) came out on top tonight in the co-featured bout on the Garcia-Benn undercard at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Opetaia took on former titlist Noel Mikaelian (28-4, 12 KOs) in what was a challenging fight that saw a few clashes of heads due to their orthodox vs southpaw stances. Mikaelian had success early on with sharp right hands that caused some swelling on Opetaia’s left eye while the defending champion continued applying pressure.
In the seventh round, Mikaelian connected with a stiff right hand that stunned Opetaia, causing him to clinch to regain his composure.
Opetaia looked better in the eighth round before coming on strong in the ninth. In that ninth round, Opetaia hurt Mikaelian and caused him to fall towards the ropes, causing the referee to rule it a knockdown.
As the referee made his count, he decided Mikaelian was in no condition to continue and waived it off, giving Opetaia the TKO win.
After the fight, Mikaelian said he would like to face David Benavidez, who was in attendance, and Benavidez joined him in the ring to congratulate him and agree that they should fight next.
