Sports
Matchroom CEO Frank Smith reacts to Jai Opetaia choosing to sign with Dana White
Matchroom Boxing CEO Frank Smith insists he is not dwelling on the departure of Jai Opetaia to Zuffa Boxing.
Opetaia announced last week that he and long-time co-promoter Tasman Fighters will now work with Dana White and Zuffa, in a move that further underlines White’s growing ambitions in the sport. Zuffa Boxing launches on Friday night at the UFC APEX, with Callum Walsh facing Carlos Ocampo in the main event of its first Paramount Plus broadcast, and further shows already planned for the coming months.
Securing Opetaia represents a significant coup for White. The IBF cruiserweight champion is widely viewed as a future undisputed titleholder at 200lbs and a potential force in the heavyweight division should he eventually move up.
Matchroom began working with Opetaia and Tasman Fighters in July 2023 and, while they were not involved in his most recent title defence against Huseyin Cinkara, they had partnered with the Australian across several fights, including previous world title defences.
Speaking to IFL TV, Smith addressed Opetaia’s exit and struck a philosophical tone about losing a fighter to a new promotional rival.
“It is what it is. Fighters come, fighters go.
In the sport of boxing, what you need is someone who’s completely committed to you and will do anything for you. It’s a commercial business at the same time, right?
You have to think about it in a long term and not everyone does that. It’s not the first time it’s happened. It won’t be the last time it happens.”
While acknowledging disappointment, Smith made it clear there is little value in dwelling on the loss as Matchroom looks ahead.
“There’s so many opportunities. But it’s not an endless pot of money because we otherwise we wouldn’t be running the business and we’re in this to run a business.
“Again, I’m not sitting here saying, ‘Oh, it’s irrelevant. Who cares at all?’ But I’m sitting here saying, ‘Well, we got to now focus on the 94 other fighters we’ve got.’ Jai Opetaia’s a brilliant fighter but is there other fighters, maybe not as good as him, but with bigger commercial opportunities? Yes.”
For Smith, the message is clear: Zuffa’s arrival may be disruptive, but Matchroom’s focus remains firmly on the fighters still under its banner and the business of moving forward.
