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World-ranked Australian boxer Jai Opetaia has extended his unbeaten professional record to 18, adding another cruiserweight belt with a points win in Sydney.
World-ranked Australian cruiserweight boxer Jai Opetaia has added another belt to his collection, with a convincing unanimous points win over tough New Zealander Nikolas Charalampous at Sydney's Luna Park.
Opetaia knocked Charalampous down with a left to the head in Saturday night's eighth round, but the durable Kiwi maintained his record of never having been stopped.
The slick NSW central coast fighter won the WBO Global belt in addition to defending his interim World Boxing Association Oceania cruiserweight title.
The Australian bossed the bout with his superior hand speed, landing his jab and some slick combinations and single shots.
Charalampous (18-3, 8 KOs) landed the occasional shot but couldn't sustain any pressure on Opetaia, who was taken the 10-round distance for the first time, ending a run of 13-straight stoppages.
He won on the judges' cards by margins of eight, nine and 11 points.
"I didn't feel my best performance but, at this point of my career, it was awesome to get the rounds," Opetaia said.
Opetaia is rated 11th in the WBA, 12th in the IBF and 15th in the WBO and might move into the top 10 of at least one of those organisations after the win.
In the earlier bout between former South Sydney NRL teammates, Luke Burgess scored a TKO win after Beau Champion was unable to continue beyond the first round due to a bicep injury.
