Wilder to face cruiserweight champion Opetaia on Fury-Joshua undercard

Deontay Wilder will face unbeaten cruiserweight champion Jai Opetaia on the undercard of Tyson Fury’s long-awaited bout with Anthony Joshua in Cardiff on 11 December. Opetaia is moving up to heavyweight to meet the former world champion, adding a cross-division contest to a fight event expected to draw major attention.

Wilder, 41, held the WBC heavyweight title from 2015 to 2020 and has a professional record of 45 wins, four losses and one draw. Opetaia, 31, has won all 31 of his professional bouts. Fury and Joshua’s first meeting was announced in September, tickets reportedly sold out within an hour, and the event is due to stream globally on Netflix.