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IBF champion and Ring cruiserweight Jai Opetaia will fight IBF 10th-ranked David Nyika on January 8 in a card promoted at the Matchroom at the Gold Coast Convention Centre, Broadbeach. Eddie Hearn’s promoters confirmed that Nyika would be Opetaia’s opponent.
2020 Olympic bronze medalist Nyika (10-0, 9 KOs) will soon replace #1 IBF Huseyin Cinkara. Cinkra pulled out of the January 8 fight against Opetaia with an ankle injury.
Opetaia Can Break
Niyika has to follow Mairis Briedis’ plan by giving Opetaia nightmares and constant pressure. During their second fight, we saw that Opetaia hates being pressured and comes undone when he starts to take damage on his face. Briedis exposed Opetaia in despair.
A three-time champion, Niyika, 29, works best because she is from New Zealand, which makes Opetaia’s Australian fans happy, as the two countries are close. This battle will play well with the Aussies and New Zealanders.
“I have been working hard to get this card, and when the opportunity to meet Jai came, I jumped,” said Nyika. Things.co.nz. “This is the moment every fighter dreams of, and the whole of New Zealand is behind me.
“I know that Jai is brave, but I am ready to do this.” This is my chance to change my life, and I’m leaving everything in this group.
Bivol-esque Challenge
It will be interesting to see how Niyika complements Jai Opetaia’s strength, speed, and bivol-esque skills. Since turning pro in 2021, he has had to deal with early criticism. In the 2020 Olympics, Niyika was defeated by Muslim Gadzhimagomedov of Russia with a score of 4-1. It wasn’t close.
Most recently, Niyika defeated 38-year-old Tommy Karpency by a third round knockout on September 15th. It is unclear why Niyika’s management didn’t move him sooner, given his immense talent. It is a waste of time to bring in a former sports star like Niyika. He should have fought the killers earlier.
In the three years he has been in the sport, he has not achieved anything other than being ranked in the top 10 by the IBF and participating as an opponent. Without this, it is possible that Niyika would be spinning his wheels, working underground for the next three to five years, just getting old.
There are no big names in the heavyweight division except for Jai Opetaia, but he is not a household name around the world. The division is looking for big names and fighters that can sell. However, Opetaia vs. Niyika has done well in their countries.
What a battle – Australia v New Zealand is locked in!!!! Great respect to @David Nyika to ride and you know what @jaiopetaia1 that’s all! See you on the Gold Coast Jan 8! @daznboxing #OpetaiNyika @tasmanfighters 🇦🇺 🇳🇿 pic.twitter.com/oF356wY2Zo
– Eddie Hearn (@EddieHearn) December 18, 2024
January 8th DAZN Card
Jai Opetaia vs. David Nyika
Justice Huni vs. Shaun Potgeiter
Ben Mahoney vs. Fan Zhang
Austin Augustus vs. Habib Ahmed
Max McIntyre vs. Abdulsalam Saman
Billy McAllister vs. Jordan Towns
