LUCAS ROEHRIG has sparred boxing’s most feared man – Jai Opetaia – and now he is hungry for more.
The British 22-year-old had not even boxed as a professional the first time he sparred
Lucas Roehrig is under the mentorship of George GrovesCredit: Getty
Lucas Roehrig is eyeing title fights with England’s best boxersCredit: Getty
Australia’s Jai Opetaia held the IBF title from 2022 until 2023Credit: EPA
The light heavy-weight boxing prospect, under the mentorship of, swapped basketball for the boxing ring as a youngster.
And clearly it was the right call, with Opetaia so impressed by Roehrig in their initial training session that he invited the Londoner out to Saudi Arabia for a second spell of sparring.
Roehrig told SunSport: “I would say profile wise, standing and of course the belts you’ve got guys like John Hedges.
“He holds the English title at the moment. That’s the belt we’ll be aiming for. You’ve also got guys like Aloys Jr. He’s got a couple of titles.
“And in terms of profile, you’ve got guys like Viddal Riley. He’s got a very high profile.”
On sparring Opetaia, he added: “With someone like someone like Jai, when you’re sparring, he’s going to put you in an uncomfortable position where either you adapt, or you’re just going to crumble and go up in a shell.
“If asks me to do rounds, tomorrow I’ll do rounds with him.
“You’re always going to have those nerves, but it’s good nerves.
“You’ve always just got to have full belief in yourself that you’re capable of going in with anyone.
“Because that’s how you’re going to get better, learning off these guys. Picking their brains.”
Roehrig is following in Groves’ footsteps with hard starts from the very start of his career.
He was matched with two-time English light heavyweight champion Joel McIntyre last December.
And jaws hit the deck when Roehrig forced him to retire after just three rounds after cutting him.
He added: “As long as I keep winning, we’ll get to the point where I’ll be fighting for these titles and the names that I mentioned.”
View of The Sun's boxing expert: 'I think it's a ploy'
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CALL ME a miserable fat little boxing cynic, but Tyson Fury’s latest retirement just doesn’t wash with me.
It wasn’t too long ago we were hearing he had a ten-fight deal with Saudi Arabia, that he was gonna fight Anthony Joshua twice, then he was going to face Joseph Parker twice.
He was planning on doing every fight in the world – there was even talk he’d rematch Francis Ngannou and do a better job.
IF he has retired, then he goes out with an incredible career having made over £300million in boxing events alone, let alone all the extra stuff.
He does so having sacrificed bundles of his own life for such success.
We know his wife Paris suffered a miscarriage going into the first Olesandr Usyk fight.
We know for Deontay Wilder III, his little girl was put in intensive care, he barely even trained for that fight, he was sleeping on the hospital floor.
IF he has retired, IF it is genuine, then it’s been an incredible career.
And for the big showman, it’s probably a nice little short sharp way to go out by just posting a video while sat inside his car.
But I can’t help but think that it’s a bit of a ploy to drive AJ a little bit crazy.
AJ was at the Ring Awards the other day and put out a social media post saying “Fury, where are you? I’m looking for you.”
It’s the only fight that AJ wants, and Fury being wise and looking at the Floyd Mayweather playbook, knows that once you retire, you have to be coaxed out of retirement.
And how do you coax someone out of retirement? Loads more readies.
The fact of the matter is, Fury has always told us: I’m a prize fighter, I do it for money, I’m gonna do it for as long as I can and make as much money as I can.
So the idea that he suddenly ducks out now doesn’t seem to ring quite true.
As Fury made the announcement, I was with Frank Warren and he said hadn’t spoken to Tyson about it today, but that he hopes that it’s true, that Fury’s done enough and made enough money.
IF it’s true, then what an incredible career.
Fury and AJ have put British boxing on the map where it’s not been for decades, not since Lennox Lewis 25 years ago.
So thank you, but rather than being at his leaving party, which I’m sure The Sun would be invited to, I suspect we’ll see him boxing AJ in Riyadh in a few months.
Roehrig’s most recent fight was a victory on November 21, 2025, against Brice Clavier in Brighton where he won by unanimous decision after an eight-round war.
He remained undefeated and moved to 7-0.
Before that, he secured a stoppage win against Milosav Savic in early 2025, forcing three knockdowns in the third round for a devastating TKO.
On the Clavier fight, Roehrig added: “Exciting fight, wild fight.
“Things, especially in the early rounds, didn’t go to plan, but it’s all a learning curve.
“We’re taking tough tests early on, so just about getting through them.
“I’m still unsigned, we’re still just getting fight by fight and just building our name. So it’s exciting, but that’s the name of the game, it’s snakes and ladders.
“When you go up, you lose then you go down, and it’s all a risk.”
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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