Jai Opetaia's team addresses "dropped" rumors after boxer abruptly leaves Tyson Fury's camp having sparred only five rounds
Jai Opetaia and his team want to make it clear that he didn't drop Tyson Fury.
'The Gypsy King' is currently preparing to face Oleksandr Usyk on Feb. 17 in Saudi Arabia. The bout will crown the first undisputed heavyweight champion of the four-belt era, and it's clear Fury is pulling out all the stops in order to win.
One of the ways that the British boxer was looking to secure the victory was by bringing in the rising Opetaia. The current Ring Magazine and lineal cruiserweight champion last scored a knockout win over Ellis Zorro, in December, on the 'Day of Reckoning' card.
The highlight-reel knockout victory also put him in the good graces of the Saudis. Following the win, he was added to the Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk undercard. There, he will rematch Mairis Breidis, whom he beat by decision in July 2022.
Unfortunately, Opetaia's time preparing with 'The Gypsy King' was short-lived. Earlier today, it was confirmed that the cruiserweight had stopped training with Fury and had headed home. Rumors quickly spread that Opetaia had dropped the heavyweight, which led to the sudden split.
However, that wasn't the case. Earlier today, Opetaia's promoter released a statement to X, downplaying the rumors. According to the statement, the two champions had good rounds of sparring, and it was a great experience for the Australian.
Why did Jai Opetaia suddenly stop training with Tyson Fury? Here's the latest
According to Ben Damon of Fox Sports, Jai Opetaia's decision to stop training with Tyson Fury was pretty simple.
While some believe that the Australian cruiserweight dropped 'The Gypsy King,' that rumor has now been put to bed. It does beg the question, however, why exactly did Opetaia stop training with Fury?
Well, a report from Ben Damon seems to indicate that it did somewhat have to do with sparring. The Fox Sports reporter took to X to confirm that the two champions only sparred around five rounds together.
However, Opetaia decided to return to Australia for more "orthodox sparring". While Damon didn't clarify what that meant, it likely means that he wanted to get a sparring partner more around his size. Tyson Fury is 6'9", and insanely large even for heavyweight's standards.
Seeing as how the cruiserweight champion will be fighting 6'1" Mairis Brieids next, a change in sparring partners makes sense.