The appreciative Australian southpaw praised Zuffa Boxing at every turn. Opetaia is thankful that the deep-pocketed promotional company will afford him the activity, exposure and financial security he sought.

The strong southpaw is also proud to fight for the first Zuffa Boxing title, but the 30-year-old Opetaia made it clear in the countless interviews he did the past few weeks that his mission has not and will not change. Opetaia’s goal is still to become undisputed cruiserweight champion.

That means the best fighter Zuffa Boxing has signed since it launched last year remains completely committed to winning the WBA, WBC and WBO titles – the same championships the powerbrokers behind Zuffa Boxing intend to marginalize. Opetaia’s take on titles exemplified just how arduous a long-term task Zuffa Boxing’s leadership group, which includes Ring owner Turki Alalshikh, embraced as it attempts to shift fighters and fans away from an often-frustrating four-belt system that has helped damage the sport’s credibility, perhaps permanently.

Dana White, the front man for Zuffa Boxing, has been very vocal about eradicating self-serving sanctioning organizations from boxing. The outspoken UFC president and CEO quickly learned, however, that will be far easier said than done.

Opetaia, who owns The Ring and IBF belts, hopes the Zuffa Boxing belt gains acceptance in addition to the other titles, not in place of those crowns.

“I’m just hoping to get these big fights over the line, become undisputed and be a great ambassador for Zuffa Boxing,” Opetaia told The Ring. “If we keep doing our job, everyone on this team, you won’t be undisputed unless you have the Zuffa Boxing belt as well.”

Opetaia (29-0, 23 KOs) clarified that his IBF belt will be at stake against Glanton (21-3, 18 KOs), as well as The Ring and Zuffa Boxing titles. The Sydney native disputed published reports that indicated the IBF informed him that he couldn’t compete for its title if he were to fight for the Zuffa Boxing belt.

“There’s obviously a lotta noise and everyone’s been saying [the IBF] gave me an ultimatum,” Opetaia said. “But one thing that I learned more and more is don’t believe anything you read on social media. I mean, because they just absolutely talk s*** and they just wanna get views on their page. You know what I mean?

“The IBF have confirmed that they’re willing to be a part of it. I got the email about it. They’re all on board. So, all this talk and saying this and that, people just make s*** up. I’m grateful that I’m here and I’m grateful that everyone around me sees the goal – Zuffa, the IBF, all of them. You know what I mean? Without them seeing eye to eye and believing in me, it takes away my dream. It’s my goal to become undisputed.”

Adding another title to the championship mix has been met with resistance from media members and fans who understandably want one champion in every division. Opetaia’s plan is to beat Glanton in this optional title defense and then fight the winner between WBA/WBO champ Gilberto Ramirez (48-1, 30 KOs) and David Benavidez (31-0, 25 KOs) on May 2 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Ramirez is The Ring’s No. 1 contender for Opetaia’s title. Benavidez would likely replace Ramirez in the top spot if he wins.

If Opetaia defeats Glanton and Ramirez or Benavidez, he would still need to win the WBC belt to join Oleksandr Usyk as the only fully unified cruiserweight champions of the four-belt era. Noel Mikaelian (28-3, 12 KOs) holds the WBC title.

Opetaia will happily strap Zuffa Boxing’s belt around his waist if the heaviifly favored fighter defeats Glanton, The Ring’s No. 10 contender, in a main event Paramount+ will stream from Meta Apex, UFC’s performance complex in Las Vegas. But becoming undisputed champion still means more to Opetaia than anything, thus there are three more titles he would unapologetically pursue to complete his mission.

■ If Oscar De La Hoya honestly hopes to move forward with Vergil Ortiz Jr. once their legal ordeal ends, why would he have said what he said about Ortiz’s father during his most recent “Clapback Thursday” video? Belittling his star fighter’s father by releasing footage of Ortiz Sr. scrapping with a fan at his son’s most recent fight November 8 only created more tension between Ortiz Jr. and his longtime promoter. Ortiz’s options could be to either work with Golden Boy Promotions or not fight. If that happens and De La Hoya really wants to entertain boxing fans, he should do what he can in private to repair his business relationship with Ortiz, so that they can finally deliver his fight with Jaron Ennis.

■ As much as we want to see Emanuel Navarrete fight O’Shaquie Foster, Navarrete needs to keep his word and grant Charly Suarez the rematch the Filipino contender deserves and should’ve already received. That would likely leave us with two compelling junior lightweight fights later this year – the Navarrete-Suarez rematch and Foster versus Raymond Ford.

■ Naoya Inoue opened as almost a 3-1 favorite to beat Junto Nakatani in the long-awaited Japanese showdown that was officially announced Friday for May 2 at Tokyo Dome. Nakatani’s subpar performance against Sebastian Hernandez on December 27 seemingly widened the odds on their junior featherweight title fight, maybe a tad too much when you consider the vulnerability Inoue has shown against less imposing opponents than the taller, strong southpaw in recent years.