Jai Opetaia recorded his most stunning knockout to date when he put Huseyin Cinkara to sleep with a left hand early in the eighth round of their IBF and The Ring cruiserweight title bout on the Gold Coast.
The Aussie southpaw moved to 29-0 with 23 KOs, having overcome a slight wobble in the second round to dominate the fight and ultimately stop the previously undefeated Turkish-German.
Having successfully navigated the mandatory defence of his world title, Opetaia can now set his sights on unification fights with the likes of WBC champion Badou Jack and WBO and WBA beltholder Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez.
Jai Opetaia KNOCKED OUT Huseyin Cinkara COLD in round 8 🥶pic.twitter.com/rzmU5Qpe5Z
— Source of Boxing (@Sourceofboxing) December 6, 2025
Immediately following the fight-ending blow, a left hook which landed just below the ear, there was significant concern for Cinkara, who was slumped against the ropes and lay unconscious for several minutes.
Despite the eye-catching nature of the finish, Opetaia wasn't pleased with his efforts.
"That performance, I'm very disappointed in myself, we've had a very big camp and I feel like I've let some people down with that performance, it wasn't my best," Opetaia said in the ring post-fight.
"Hopefully that bad performance brings these guys out to take these fights.
"There was a lot of mistakes and I'm so pissed off but we got the win and we move forward."
On the moment in the second round in which he was wobbled by a pair of right hands, Opetaia said: "I think I needed it, a bit of humble pie, never get too big for your boots.
"Cinkara, you're a soldier."
In the chief support, Max McIntyre continued to impress, stopping Jed Morris in the fourth round to move to 9-0 at just 21 years old.
Jake Wyllie and Paul Fleming couldn’t be split after an action-packed 10-rounder, although one judge turned in a bewildering 100-90 scorecard in Wyllie’s favour.
At heavyweight, undefeated knockout artist Teremoana Teremoana had another quick night, stopping German Garcia Montes in the first to move to 9-0 as a professional.
Earlier, former world champion Jason Moloney scored a one-sided KO win over Herlan Gomez, while domestic star Ben Mahoney was impressive in handing Winston Hill his first defeat.
Read on for all the results and highlights.
Jai Opetaia vs. Huseyin Cinkara fight updates, results and highlights
Jai Opetaia puts Huseyin Cinkara to sleep in the eighth
Round 8: Opetaia has been favouring straight punches for the most part, perhaps setting Cinkara up for the overhand left. AND THERE IT IS! It's over. The left lands and Cinkara goes down and does not move.
Round 7: Opetaia just constantly pressing forward, varying his attacks and pushing Cinkara around the ring. A left hand to the guts closes out the round for the local. 69-64 Opetaia
Round 6: A left hand rocks Cinkara's head back against the ropes as Opetaia looks to force the issue. Cinkara is slowing down and his hands are dropping. Two more rear hands find the target for the Aussie late in the round. 59-55 Opetaia
Round 5: Cinkara is on the back pedal now and Opetaia is loading up on some overhand lefts but can't quite find the mark. The challenger's offence is limited to single shots at the moment. Opetaia reins it in late in the round, popping his man from range. Opetaia is cut under his right eye, not quite sure what caused it at this stage. 49-46 Opetaia
Round 4: Opetaia on the hunt here but Cinkara doing just enough to disrupt his offence. A hard uppercut lands on the inside for Opetaia after he brought Cinkara's guard down with a body rip. 39-37 Opetaia
Round 3: Opetaia pushes Cinkara back with two left hands. Cinkara wings a wild punch and hits the deck but it's ruled a slip. Opetaia slips a shot and counters hard. A right uppercut lands for the champ and he is back in control. More strong shots to finish the round. 29-28 Opetaia
Round 2: Cinkara wobbles Opetaia badly with a right hand just as the champ looked comfortable. Opetaia hangs on and appears to recover quickly. Biggest shot of the fight and earns the challenger the round. That wasn't in the script. 19-19
Round 1: Strong start from the champion, boxing long, constant movement. Cinkara still working things out. Opetaia peppers his man with several straight lefts down the pipe. Measured. 10-9 Opetaia
9:45 pm: Both fighters are ready to go. Follow along with our unofficial scorecard.
9:37 pm: The challenger Cinkara has made his way into the ring.
Max McIntyre records latest KO victory
Rising super middleweight Max McIntyre turned in another impressive performance to stop Jed Morris in the fourth round.
McIntyre moved to 9-0 with the victory, which came following an uppercut and overhand right.
Morris climbed to his feet but his trainer had seen enough and called off the bout.
Jake Wyllie and Paul Fleming fight out bewildering draw
Our second draw of the night on the back of some completely insane scorecards.
One judge had it a shutout for Wyllie, another had it 97-93 for Fleming, while the third couldn't split them at 95-95.
It always shaped as a difficult fight to score, with Fleming landing the bigger shots while Wyllie was the busier of the pair and spent most of the fight on the front foot.
For the record, we had it 96-94 for Fleming.
Teremoana Teremoana keeps first-round KO streak going
Former Olympian Teremoana Teremoana scored a sixth-straight first-round knockout victory and improved to 9-0 with a demolition job on German Garcia Montes.
The Mexican was brave in trading with the Teremoana but it always looked a dangerous game to be playing and a left hook in the final minute of the opening round finally put him down and out.
Ben Mahoney claims entertaining KO win over Winston Hill
Fiji's Winston Hill tasted defeat for the first time in eight professional fights when he eventually succumbed to a body assault in the sixth round.
Hill touched the canvas for a fourth time after a pair of hard shots to the mid-section crumpled him, one of many throughout what was an engaging scrap.
Jason Moloney returns to the winners' circle with TKO
Former world champion Jason Moloney claimed an emphatic fourth-round stoppage victory over Herlan Gomez to end a two-fight skid.
"Mayhem" knocked his opponent down in the first round and forced Phil Holiday to step in following a savage combination in the fourth.
Hayden Emmerson and Jack Gregory can't be split
After 10 hard rounds at middleweight, Hayden Emmerson and Jack Gregory is declared a majority draw, with the dissenting judge scoring it 96-94 for Emmerson.
Both guys had bright moments as the fight went up a gear in the later rounds but neither could pull ahead.
Austin Aokuso stops Emmanuel Danso early on
We have the first knockout of the night, with Austin Aokuso getting the job done right at the end of the second round against Emmanuel Danso.
Having been slightly wobbled earlier in the round, Aokuso regained the ascendancy and drilled his man with a straight left, sending his mouthguard flying into he fans and ending the bout.
Taylah Gentzen defeats Jessica Adams via unanimous decision
(79-73, 78-74, 77-75)
Gentzen claims a hard-fought decision win to kick off the card.
Jai Opetaia vs. Huseyin Cinkara full card results
- Jai Opetaia def. Huseyin Cinkara via TKO8
- Max McIntyre def. Jed Morris via TKO4
- Jake Wyllie draws Paul Fleming (97-93 Fleming, 100-90 Wyllie, 95-95)
- Teremoana Teremoana def. German Garcia Montes via KO1
- Ben Mahoney def. Winston Hill via KO6
- Jason Moloney def. Herlan Gomez via TKO4
- Jack Gregory draws Hayden Emmerson (95-95 x2, 96-94)
- Austin Aokuso def. Emmanuel Danso via TKO2
- Taylah Gentzen def. Jessica Adams via UD8 (79-73, 78-74, 77-75)
How to watch Opetaia vs. Cinkara in Australia: Live stream, TV channel
This fight represents the first in a new broadcast deal between promoter Tasman Fighters and streaming platform Stan.
A pay-per-view event, fans can tune in via the Stan app on their smart TVs, phones, tablets or computers.
An active Stan subscription is required, although users won't need to be subscribed to Stan Sport in order to purchase the PPV.
The event costs $50 and kicks off at 4:30 pm AEST/5:30 pm AEDT.
Click here to purchase the PPV.
What time is Opetaia vs. Cinkara?
The pay-per-view action gets underway from 4:30 pm AEST/5:30 pm AEDT.
Opetaia and Cinkara are expected to step into the ring for the main event around 9:30 pm AEST/10:30 pm AEDT, although that depends on the length of earlier bouts.
WATCH: Opetaia vs. Cinkara, live on Stan