Jai Opetaia didn't have it all his own way, but he kept his dreams of unifying the cruiserweight division alive after knocking out Huseyin Cinkara in the eighth round on Australia’s Gold Coast.

The Ring and IBF champion was hurt early in the fight and will feel frustrated he was put under that kind of duress against another unheralded opponent. The first half of 2025 saw the Aussie blast out David Nyika and Claudio Squeo in a combined nine rounds. Awkward and upright Cinkara would provide far more durability and carry firepower of his own.

Win was all Opetaia needed to do after it became clear the visitor wouldn't be bowled over in minutes and the closing moments finally came in the eighth round after Opetaia landed a howitzer of a left hand to the chin.

Following his victory, Opetaia (29-0, 23 KOs) said: "I'm very disappointed in myself, I feel like I've let some people down with that performance. He came to fight, he boxed well, hopefully that bad performance brings these other guys out to take a fight.

"I fought like [expletive]. I'm so pissed off, but we got the win. I needed that humble pie, watch this space. We want unifications fights, Zurdo, I'm chasing belts, I've been asking for them for a long time. But we're gonna go back to the gym and sharpen up."

Opetaia started the fight aggressively, landing jabs to the body and looking for overhand lefts. His aggression would be to his detriment in the second round, though, as Cinkara got through with two right hands which rocked Opetaia to his boots.

Opetaia looked to get his own back immediately and in customary fashion began to put more pressure on than he was before he was hurt but again, Cinkara would keep himself in it with the right hand, leaving a visible welt under Opetaia's right eye.

But by the end of the fourth round Cinkara, who'd spent 12 minutes straight on the back foot, was breathing out of his mouth on the shaky walk back to his corner.

The fifth and sixth rounds were Opetaia's best yet. Whipping body shots and left hands to the head dominated much of the action and by the time the seventh round started, Opetaia was well on top.

Cinkara stumbled out for the eighth but just moments later it was all over. Opetaia went low with the jab to the body before slipping and landing a left over the top, sending the German straight onto the bottom rope and out for the count.

Opetaia will once again look to land the biggest fights possible, but he might find himself struggling to do so.

It looked likely Opetaia would clash with WBO and WBA titleholder Gilberto ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez in November but the Mexican’s shoulder surgery shelved those plans.

Ramirez now looks set to return in January, as reported by The Ring, in a tuneup before a huge Cinco de Mayo fight with David Benavidez, who recently announced his intentions to move up for the challenge from light heavyweight.

WBC champion Badou Jack will rematch Noel Mikaelian next week after their controversial draw in May.

It leaves Opetaia, 30, on the outside looking in during the prime years of his career. A move to heavyweight where lucrative, legacy-defining fights lay, could and should be the next move.