Wilder to face Opetaia on Fury-Joshua undercard

Deontay Wilder will fight Jai Opetaia on the undercard of Tyson Fury’s bout with Anthony Joshua in Cardiff in December, with the WBA ‘super’ heavyweight title at stake, BBC Sport reports.

The fight is set to be the co-main event at Principality Stadium. Opetaia, the unbeaten WBA ‘regular’ cruiserweight champion, will step up to heavyweight for the first time. Wilder, 41, is a former WBC heavyweight champion and has 43 knockouts in 50 professional fights.

Wilder has lost two of his past four bouts, but beat Derek Chisora by split decision in April. Opetaia, 31, has 31 wins from 31 fights and could become the first boxer to defeat Wilder, according to BBC Sport.

Fury and Joshua are scheduled to meet on Saturday 12 December. Tickets for the main event sold out in less than an hour, while organisers have yet to announce the rest of the undercard.

The announcement follows earlier uncertainty around Wilder’s opponent: Dutch kickboxer Rico Verhoeven had said he accepted an offer to fight Wilder on the same card, but that details remained to be agreed. Verhoeven’s account of the proposed bout preceded the confirmation of Opetaia as Wilder’s opponent.