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IBF and Ring Cruiserweight Champion Jai Opetaia will fight No. 10 IBF-ranked replacement challenger David Nyika on January 8 on a Matchroom-promoted card at the Gold Coast Convention Center in Broadbeach. Promoter Eddie Hearn confirmed that Nyika will be Opetaia’s opponent.
2020 Olympic bronze medalist Nyika (10-0, 9 KOs) will replace IBF #1 Huseyin Cinkara on short notice. Cinkra pulled out of the January 8 fight against Opetaia with an ankle injury.
Opetaia can be broken
Niyika must follow Mairis Briedis’ plan to give Opetaia nightmares with non-stop pressure. In his second fight, we saw that Opetaia hates being pressured and disengages when he starts taking facial damage. Briedis exposed Opetaia in a losing effort.
Three-year pro Niyika, 29, works even better because she’s from New Zealand, which makes her more interesting for Opetaia’s Australian fans as the two countries are close. The fight will be played well with the Australians and the New Zealanders.
“I’ve been training hard for this card, and when the opportunity came to face Jai, I jumped at it,” said Nyika. Stuff.co.nz. “This is the moment every fighter dreams of, and I have the whole nation of New Zealand behind me.
“I know how tough Jai is, but I’m ready for this challenge. This is my chance to change my life, and I’m leaving it all in the ring.”
Buffalo-esque Challenge
It will be interesting to see how Niyika handles Jai Opetaia’s power, speed and bivolent skills. Since turning pro in 2021, he has been battling rudimentary opposition. At the 2020 Olympics, Niyika was defeated by Russian Muslim Gadzhimagomedov by a score of 4–1. It wasn’t close.
Niyika recently defeated Tommy Karpency, a 38-year-old official, by a third-round knockout on September 15. It is not clear why Niyika’s management has not moved her to a faster pace, given her extensive amateur experience. It is a waste of time to slowly bring in a former amateur star like Niyika. He should have been fighting the assassins by now.
In the three years he’s been in the game, he’s earned nothing other than a top-10 ranking with the IBF and a title shot as a replacement opponent. Without these, Niyika might be spinning her wheels, toiling in obscurity for the next three to five years, just getting old.
There are no real big names in the heavyweight division other than Jai Opetaia, but he’s not a household name in most of the world. The division needs bigger names and fighters that can sell. Anyway, Opetaia vs Niyika will do well in their respective countries.
What a fight – Australia v New Zealand close!!!! Great respect to @DavidNyika to increase and you know what @jaiopetaia1 it’s about everything! See you on the Gold Coast on January 8th! @daznboxing #OpetaiaNyika @tasmanfighters 🇦🇺 🇳🇿 pic.twitter.com/oF356wY2Zo
— Eddie Hearn (@EddieHearn) December 18, 2024
January 8 DAZN card
Jai Opetaia vs. David Nyika
Judge Huni vs. Shaun Potgeiter
Ben Mahoney vs. Fan Zhang
Austin Aokuso vs. Habib Ahmed
Max McIntyre vs. Abdulsalam Saman
Billy McAllister vs. Jordan Towns
