Subriel Matias vs. Dalton Smith purse bids resolved; Jai Opetaia vs. Hüseyin Cinkara official
Dalton Smith will have to travel for his first world title shot.
Fresh Productions, on behalf of WBC super lightweight champion Subriel Matias, won the purse bids for Matias' mandatory title defense against Smith on Tuesday afternoon, with an eye toward staging the fight in Matias' home country of Puerto Rico.
Fresh Productions offered $ 1.9 million for the bout, which was $ 190,000 higher than Smith's promoter, Eddie Hearn's Matchroom Boxing, which offered $ 1.71 million. According to the terms, 10% of the $ 1.9 million will be held as a win bonus. Matias is entitled to 70% of the remaining pool, or $ 1.197 million, while Smith will receive the other 30%, or $ 513,000.
Matias (23-2, 22 KOs) captured the WBC championship with a majority decision victory over Alberto Puello on the Edgar Berlanga vs. Hamzah Sheeraz undercard this past July in New York. The Puerto Rican previously held the IBF super lightweight title from 2023 until he lost it to Liam Paro in a major upset in June 2024.
Smith (18-0, 13 KOs) flew up the WBC 140-pound rankings after knocking out three-time title challenger Jose Zepeda in March 2024. A former British, Commonwealth and European champion, Smith was named as mandatory following his opening-round destruction of Walid Ouizza in January to capture European honors. Smith defended his position with a unanimous decision over Mathieu Germain in April.
Jai Opetaia set for mandatory title defense against Hüseyin Cinkara
Jai Opetaia's struggle to land the big fights continues.
Opetaia will defend his IBF and RING Magazine cruiserweight titles against his mandatory challenger Hüseyin Cinkara next, Opetaia's promoter, Matchroom Boxing, confirmed Tuesday. Opetaia's bout with Cinkara was scheduled to go to a purse bid hearing later on Tuesday, but a deal was reached between the parties just hours before the IBF auction.
It's another underwhelming fight for Opetaia, who was hoping to land unification fights with WBA/WBO champion Gilberto "Zurdo" Ramirez or WBC titleholder Badou Jack instead. Ramirez is still recovering from shoulder surgery and will be out of the ring until 2026, while Jack has agreed to terms for a WBC-ordered rematch with Noel Mikaelian.
In the absence of a unification fight, Opetaia (28-0, 22 KOs) is forced to put his belt on the line against the little-known Cinkara in Opetaia's third in-ring appearance of 2025. The Australian knocked out David Nyika in four rounds in a Trans-Tasman clash in January, then was extended just one frame further by Claudio Squeo in June.
Cinkara (23-0, 19 KOs) was scheduled to challenge Opetaia in January, but broke his ankle in training and was forced to withdraw from the date, leading to Nyika replacing him on short notice. The German, now based in Turkey, became the mandatory challenger with a second-round stoppage win over Armend Xhoxhaj in April 2024. His latest in-ring appearance was this past April, when he stopped Juan Diaz in the first round.
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