Eddie Hearn dismisses ‘rubbish’ claims that Tyson Fury got dropped by Jai Opetaia in a sparring session… as Matchroom Boxing chief insists the Brit is ‘having a great camp’ ahead of Saudi bout with Oleksandr Usyk
- Jai Opetaia sparred with Tyson Fury in Saudi Arabia before returning to Australia
- There were rumors that Opetaia had dropped the British boxer during sparring
- However, promoter Eddie Hearn has come forward to address the rumours
Eddie Hearn has addressed claims that Australian cruiserweight Jai Opetaia dropped Tyson Fury during their sparring session last month.
Opetaia – who will face Mairis Briedis for the second time in the Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk undercard – joined the Gypsy King during his camp in Saudi Arabia.
The 28-year-old joined Fury in Riyadh ahead of their respective fights on February 17, but played just five rounds before returning to Australia.
As it turned out, Opetaia made the decision to leave Saudi Arabia due to a lack of orthodox sparring available in Fury’s camp.
However, rumors surrounding Opetaia’s departure began to circulate on social media – with many claiming the Australian had dropped Fury during sparring.
According to reports, Jai Opetaia (L) dropped Tyson Fury (R) during a recent sparring session
However, Matchroom Boxing chief Eddie Hearn came out to deny the claims
British boxing legend Johnny Nelson recently came out and claimed Fury had ‘turned over in the gym’, but Hearn has come out to deny that.
He told talkSPORT: ‘I saw the play yesterday with Johnny Nelson and Spencer Oliver.
‘Johnny Nelson was adamant that Fury had been dropped by Jai Opetaia during sparring.
‘Jai Opetaia is at Matchroom, he is a great fighter. As far as I can see it’s absolute nonsense.
“Jai Opetaia flew in, he did five rounds with Tyson Fury. I mean, he’ll stick around him like he always does, but as I understand it, no one got hurt or fell into the spar.
‘So I think it’s absolute nonsense, sparring stories are sparring stories. As I understand it, Fury has a great camp and I think he’s taking it very seriously.”
Similarly, Opetaia’s co-promoters – Tasman Fighters – took to social media last month to set the record straight and deny that 28-year-old Fury is in training.
His team wrote: ‘Jai Opetaia recently returned from Saudi Arabia where he sparred and trained with Tyson Fury.
Opetaia – who will face Mairis Briedis for the second time in the Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk undercard – joined Fury’s training camp but left after just five rounds of sparring
Opetaia’s co-promoters also released a statement last month, denying claims that the Australian cruiserweight dropped Fury during sparring
‘They were fantastic, competitive rounds and an incredible experience for Jai. However, any talk of either boxer being dropped (during sparring) is untrue.
‘Jai is now back in Australia completing his preparation to defend his (Ring) title (against Mairis Briedis) and can’t wait to do so in Saudi Arabia.’
Opetaia’s fight with Briedis comes less than two months after his December 23 first-round knockout of Ellis Zorro on the ‘Day Of Reckoning’ undercard.
Opetaia defeated Briedis in their first fight, defeating the three-time cruiserweight champion over twelve rounds in July 2022.