It would mean more to The Ring/IBF cruiserweight champ to fully unify titles in his division, however, which makes a jump up to Usyk’s weight class “unrealistic” to the Australian southpaw at the moment. If the heavily favored Opetaia beats Brandon Glanton on Sunday night in Las Vegas, facing the winner of the May 2 bout between WBA/WBO champ Gilberto Ramirez and David Benavidez would offer Opetaia the opportunity to add two more cruiserweight crowns to his collection.

Opetaia, 30, would still need to beat WBC champ Noel Mikaelian to become undisputed champion if he were to win against Atlanta’s Glanton and Ramirez or Benavidez. He’ll fight Glanton for the Zuffa Boxing belt as well, but Opetaia explained his legacy-building goal to a panel consisting of Max Kellerman, Mike Coppinger, LeSean McCoy and Chris Arreola during the most recent episode of “Inside The Ring,” which premiered Monday on DAZN.

“I’m chasing undisputed,” Opetaia said. “You know what I mean? And until I tick that undisputed box or, you know, get these unification fights, then, you know, the heavyweight chapter is further down the track. You know what I mean? I feel like there’s no rush for me. And just because everyone keeps bringing up the heavyweight, heavyweight, heavyweight … even putting my name with Usyk, I feel like it’s just a bit unrealistic, to be honest. You know what I mean?

“Like, I’m not just gonna say his name and chase him disrespectfully, just for clout. You know? Like, if that fight did come up, you know, obviously, you know, who would turn that fight down? I’m not gonna sit here and disrespect someone who’s done so much for the sport, just to get my name out there. You know what I mean? I’ll carry my name on my own back.”

Ukraine’s Usyk (24-0, 15 KOs), himself a former undisputed cruiserweight champ, is scheduled to face kickboxing legend Rico Verhoeven in the main event of a Ring card DAZN will stream May 23 from the Giza pyramid complex in Egypt.

Paramount+ will stream the Opetaia-Glanton fight as the main event of a tripleheader scheduled to begin at 9 p.m. ET (6 p.m. PT) at UFC’s Meta Apex performance complex. Opetaia (29-0, 23 KOs) is a 20-1 favorite, according to DraftKings, over Glanton (21-3, 18 KOs), The Ring’s 10th-ranked contender.

Keith Idec is a senior writer and columnist for The Ring. He can be reached on X @idecboxing.