JACK MASSEY believes he has spotted a chink in the armour of the man he believes is the best cruiserweight in the world.
The 31-year-old challenges Jai Opetaia on October 12 in Riyadh for the IBF world title knowing full well the size of the task in front of him.
“It’s a very, very tough fight,” Massey told Boxing News.
“First southpaw [I’m] coming across in my professional career. But I’ve got Joe [Gallagher] in my corner. I’ve got a good corner team and we’re working on things in camp and we’ve got a great game plan.
“He’s a very, very tough opponent and we’ve got a very tough night ahead of us but I’m very confident in going there and beating this guy. I’m not turning up for no paydays, people know that anyway. We’ve got a game plan and he is the best, I believe, in the cruiserweight division. I think he’s at the top and I’m there to prove myself. There’s no pressure on my side.”
Opetaia, unbeaten in 25 fights, is eager to unify the 200lbs division against fellow champions like WBO title holder Chris Billam-Smith but maintained if that could not happen in October he still wanted to fight regardless. In Massey the Australian faces a former European champion who won the title against Isaac Chamberlain in June but has since vacated the belt.
One month earlier Opetaia made it two wins from two against former cruiserweight number one Mairis Briedis who has since retired from boxing. It is that rematch, however, which has given Massey a clue at how to potentially unsettle Opetaia and give himself a chance of winning.
“He’s a good fighter but he’s shown a few little leaks here and there with the last Briedis fight,” Massey said.
“I come on strong and come on strong towards the end and I think that’s what’s going to be in my favour.
“He does like to get in a fight and it showed in the last fight he loads up a little bit too much. I think that’s why he tired off in the back end of the fight. He was looking for that knockout and he was loading up and he was putting everything into his shots and that’s when he let Briedis come into the fight.”