Jai Opetaia will be stripped of his IBF world title when he faces Brandon Glanton on his Zuffa Boxing debut.The cruiserweight champion announced that he had signed with new breakout promotion Zuffa Boxing, who have a long-term plan to monopolise the sport.Opetaia is set to lose his IBF belt as soon as he steps into the ringGettyIt was confirmed that the Aussie’s maiden clash with Glanton on Sunday night will be fought for the inaugural Zuffa Boxing title in the cruiserweight division.As a result, there has been late drama on fight week with the IBF deciding whether to sanction the bout as a title fight.Zuffa Boxing appeared to announce that all the marbles would indeed be on the line, with Opetaia on stage at the press conference with his IBF strap.But it has since been confirmed by the IBF that they have withdrawn sanctioning for the fight, just one day before it is set to unfold.They have released a statement via Boxing Scene which read: “The International Boxing Federation (IBF) has withdrawn sanction of the optional defense of the IBF Cruiserweight Title between champion Jai Opetaia and #15 ranked contender Brandon Glanton scheduled for March 8, 2026.“With sanction withdrawn, the Opetaia vs. Glanton bout is now an Unsanctioned Contest. “IBF Rule 5.H. states in part – ‘An Unsanctioned Contest is a fight which the IBF has not formally approved for sanction or where sanction has been formally withdrawn’. “‘If a Champion participates in an unsanctioned contest within his prescribed weight limit, the title will be declared vacant whether the Champion wins or loses the bout’.”The IBF do not recognise Zuffa Boxing as a governing body due to the fact they ‘don’t comply with the same regulations’.As a result, Opetaia’s hopes of a bizarre unification bout have faded, as he is set to lose the title upon throwing the first punch.Opetaia is set to fight under White’s Zuffa Boxing banner, but won’t be impressed with the announcementGettyThis is not the first time Opetaia has been stripped of this exact belt, having had the title removed in 2023 after fighting Ellis Zorro instead of Mairis Briedis.Opetaia’s thoughts on world title scenario – undisputed a priorityOpetaia has always stated his goal is to become undisputed, a target which has now taken a significant blow.The power-punching phenom insists that still remains his intentions but wants to become active with Zuffa.“I don’t pick my fights, they call me, just get me in the ring,” he told talkSPORT.“All I think about is getting closer to them unification fights. I just have to keep winning.“I have to keep winning and keep doing my job. I trust the other part of the team to do theirs.Opetaia has suggested throughout that his priority is the traditional route and becoming undisputedGetty“Now we have Zuffa Boxing onboard, I have three fights a year with these guys. I am active and it is exciting.“I’m pretty sure the IBF title is on the line. The fight will always suffer from things outside of the ring.“I can’t become undisputed without these guys on board with the goal.”