When did Jai Opetaia start boxing? Exploring the undefeated Australian boxer's professional journey

Many in the professional boxing community view Jai Opetaia as a potential superstar in the making. The 29-year-old is coming off a unanimous decision victory in his rematch against the veteran Mairis Briedis, recapturing the IBF cruiserweight belt.

Opetaia's incredible win, which transpired in May 2024, further fueled fan interest in his journey. He defends his IBF and Ring Magazine cruiserweight championships against Jack Massey on the Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol undercard next. The boxing event goes down at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Oct. 12, 2024.

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When did Jai Opetaia start boxing?

Jai Opetaia was born on June 30, 1995, into a family that has a deep bond with the sweet science. Opetaia's family connection with the sport of boxing can be traced back to four generations on his paternal side and three generations on his maternal side.

Speaking to Sporting News Australia in 2023, Opetaia revealed he started fighting at eight, taking up boxing full-time in the ensuing years. Born in Sydney, the Samoan-Australian fighter showed off memorabilia from his early years and stated:

"These are the wraps from my first-ever fight when I was eight years old. When you had kickboxing, this would be like little eight-year-olds, and you would like take big bombs on your hands. There was barely any rules. It was dodgy back then. I think this is actually my first-ever fight training, 2003."

Additionally, his mother Tracy Johnson recounted that as a 10-year-old, Jai Opetaia told her he wanted to compete at the Olympics, which is how his full-fledged boxing journey commenced.

Jai's father, Tapu Opetaia, has long been his boxing mentor. Expounding upon Jai's fighting heritage, his manager Michael Francis said:

"With Jai growing up around his family, he's a fourth-time generation fighter on his dad's side; third-time on his mom's side. His uncles at the time, were actively fighting. His dad was fighting. So everyone around him, I suppose, was fighting."

Check out Jai Opetaia's and Michael Francis' comments below (1:22 and 2:22):

As for Jai Opetaia's amateur accolades, he captured gold in the light heavyweight division at the World Junior Championships in 2011. His success as an amateur at the age of 15-16 earned him considerable praise. He also earned the distinction of becoming the youngest (17) Australian boxer from Australia to compete at the Olympics in 2012.

Furthermore, after making his professional boxing debut in August 2015, he eventually clinched several regional titles. He captured the IBF and Ring Magazine cruiserweight titles via unanimous decision in his first encounter against Latvia's Mairis Briedis in 2022.

Opetaia later vacated the IBF belt before regaining it in his rematch against Briedis. Opetaia (25-0, 19 KOs) holds the IBF and Ring Magazine cruiserweight belts and is eyeing undisputed championship status at 200 pounds.