Cruiserweight champion Jai Opetaia has been linked with a surprising move to heavyweight to fight Derek Chisora.

Opetaia, who holds The Ring and IBF cruiserweight titles, looked set to face his IBF mandatory challenger, Huseyin Cinkara, next. The two sides have had talks for a fight in November.

But according to reports in Opetaia’s native Australia, he could be about to wave goodbye to the cruiserweight division entirely.

The 30-year-old southpaw has been outspoken in his desire to secure a 200-pound unification clash with WBA/WBO king Gilberto Ramirez. With the Mexican southpaw out due to a shoulder injury, Opetaia (28-0, 22 KOs) seems to be seeking options elsewhere.

Fox Sports Australia reported that not only has Opetaia been offered an opportunity to move to heavyweight, but even named Chisora as the potential opponent. The report stated Turki Alalshikh, the head of Riyadh Season and owner of The Ring, has already urged Opetaia to make the move up and that the IBF would offer him a lofty position if he does so.

Chisora is ranked No. 2 by the IBF and is the mandatory challenger for one of undisputed champ Oleksandr Usyk’s titles. The No. 1 position in the IBF’s ratings is vacant.

“We’ve spoken with Turki – he wants Jai at heavyweight now,” Opetaia’s manager, Mick Francis, told Fox Sports Australia. “And if that were to happen, he’d go straight into number three with the IBF. There is also an opportunity there to fight Chisora.

“I’ve spoken with the IBF and said, ‘If Jai goes up, where would you put him?’ And they’ve told me he would go straight to number three in their rankings. Turki Alalshikh also wants to make that fight with Chisora.”

England’s Chisora (36-13, 23 KOs), who turns 42 in December, was installed as the IBF mandatory challenger following his unanimous points victory over Otto Wallin on February 8 in Manchester, England. His position appeared to be complicated when the IBF ordered a final eliminator between Filip Hrgovic and Frank Sanchez in April, but that fight has yet to take place.

Queensberry-promoted Chisora says he will retire after his next fight, which will be the 50th of his 18-year career. It seemed clear that Chisora would wait for the world title fight ordered by the IBF, but the possibility of an Opetaia showdown could appeal to him as well.

“I’ve spoken with Queensberry, too, and they’re interested,” Francis said. “Everyone knows that fight would be massive and there would be plenty of interest. Although I’d hate to think how much money Chisora would want, because he’s going to get hurt. He’d be no match for Opetaia.

“I know Jai would hurt him, which is incredible to think about because you win and immediately become the mandatory for the IBF heavyweight crown.”

Despite the Chisora discussions, Francis also declared that Opetaia still has his heart set on becoming the undisputed cruiserweight champion before he moves up. That would mean beating Ramirez (48-1, 30 KOs) for the WBO and WBA belts before targeting the WBC strap currently held by Badou Jack (29-3-3, 17 KOs).

“Jai wants to be undisputed cruiserweight champion before moving up,” Francis said. “He wants to be remembered as one of the greatest cruiserweights who ever lived. Guys like Evander Holyfield, David Haye and now Oleksandr Usyk are some really big names who started out in the cruiserweight division before moving up to also have massive impact as heavyweights, and Jai wants to do the same. This isn’t all about money and titles for him, it’s about legacy.”