The co-main event for the heavyweight clash between Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua on Friday, Dec. 11, will feature undefeated cruiserweight champion Jai Opetaia moving up to challenge former heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder in a 12-round bout.
The fight was confirmed on November 4, 2026, by Saudi Arabian financier Turki Alalshikh and Zuffa Boxing's Dana White on social media. The Fury-Joshua event, billed as the biggest boxing match in British history, will take place at Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Wales, and stream live worldwide on Netflix.
Opetaia (31-0, 24 KOs) is a 31-year-old southpaw from Sydney who stands 6-foot-2. He will give up four inches in height and seven inches in reach to the 41-year-old Wilder (45-4-1, 43 KOs), a native of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, known for a 95% knockout rate. The two fighters have a combined 67 knockouts.
Opetaia formerly held the IBF cruiserweight title before being stripped when he signed with Zuffa Boxing earlier this year. He captured the inaugural Zuffa title by outpointing Brandon Glanton in March and stopped WBC titleholder Noel Mikaelian in September. Wilder won a bronze medal at the 2008 Olympics, captured the WBC heavyweight title in 2015 with a unanimous decision over Bermane Stiverne despite a broken right hand, and defended it 10 times before losing back-to-back fights to Fury. After consecutive losses to Joseph Parker and Zhilei Zhang, Wilder rebounded with two wins, including a split-decision victory over Derek Chisora in April.
The event is promoted by Saudi entertainment company Sela in association with Frank Warren's Queensberry Promotions and Eddie Hearn's Matchroom Sport. Zuffa Boxing will produce the event for Alalshikh and The Ring after an extended legal battle that moved the fight from New York's Madison Square Garden to the U.K.
