The heavyweight scene was ruled by the big men over in the United Kingdom. From Anthony Joshua to Tyson Fury to Daniel Dubois. Even Derek Chisora showed over the years that he had some juice left. But while those four men in particular held onto several of the division’s top spots, Oleksandr Usyk began picking them off one by one.

Great boxing skills were usually the first words used to describe him but so was an absence of power, a shaky chin, and a lack of size. He may have been able to overcome those deficiencies during his cruiserweight run, but Eddie Hearn and a long list of others weren't convinced that he would have enough to dominate the heavyweight division.

They were wrong.

Currently in possession of The Ring, WBA, WBC, and WBO titles, Usyk (23-0, 14 KOs) is running out of credible heavyweight opponents. Fighting someone who will bring unordinary size and power to the table doesn't seem to be Usyk’s kryptonite according to Hearn. If he’ll ever be beaten, it’ll be against someone who doesn’t fit that criteria.

“I believe Jai Opetaia’s the only person in the division, cruiserweight or heavyweight, that can genuinely give Oleksandr Usyk a real, real fight,” said Hearn.

Recently, Opetaia (27-0, 21 KOs) made Hearn look good. The 29-year-old made quick work of David Nyika, stopping him in the fourth round at the Gold Coast Convention Centre in Australia. He might be viewed as one of the best fighters in the world but Opetaia’s trophy case isn’t as full as he wants it to be.

At the moment, Hearn is rushing to the phone lines and doing his best to get Gilberto Ramirez to sign his name on the dotted line for a unification bout. If that happens and Opetaia adds his WBA and WBO titles to his collection, the final piece of his undisputed puzzle will be the WBC crown.

Once that mission is accomplished, there will be nothing left for Opetaia to do in the division. Meaning, the heavyweight landscape will be next. Don’t expect him to tiptoe his way into his new division. As long as Opetaia aggregates every cruiserweight title, Hearn wants to throw him directly into the heavyweight fire.

“Jai is gonna pick up all the belts in the cruiserweight division to become undisputed and then we want to push him into a fight with Oleksandr Usyk.”