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Eddie Hearn believes Jai Opetaia can knock out David Nyika inside three rounds on Wednesday night if the challenger hangs on and fights the IBF cruiserweight champion at the Gold Coast Convention Centre, Broadbeach, Australia.
Hearn sees the result of the fight up to Opetaia (26-0, 20 KOs). If he attacks his replacement opponent Nyika (10-0, 9 KOs) with all his might for the first three rounds, he will have no choice but to fight. When that happens, Hearn expects Opetaia to be too much for the 6’6″ Stork.
Bantamweight champion
Eddie doesn’t mention how Opetaia appeared, looking haggard and haggard, at the weigh-in. He looked exhausted to make weight, and it’s pretty clear that he’s going through sheer hell to get to the cruiserweight limit.
Opetaia is a small heavyweight about the same size as Oleksandr Usyk, and that’s where he should be fighting at this point in his career. He has moved up to the cruiserweight division and is having a hard time making weight to stay there.
Nyika could take advantage of a depleted Opetaia on Wednesday night and finish the job Mairis Briedis started last May. Opetaia got Briedis out of the living light, and he was forced to flee in the championship rounds to avoid being knocked out.
Nyika is the first world-class fighter Opetaia has fought since the Briedis fight, and he could come unstuck if forced to fight hard in every round.
“There’s Nyika in the head, asking Jai Opetaia how he made his 18-hour flight to Saudi Arabia. Don’t forget he was there a couple of weeks ago for the big fight. This is a serious fight,” said Eddie Hearn Boxing match roomdiscussing Wednesday’s showdown between IBF Cruiserweight Champion Jai Opetaia and David Nyika.
“This is a massive fight globally. It’s one of the best fights, if not the best fight in the cruiserweight division. The only fight in the cruiserweight division better than this is Opetaia vs. Zurdo Ramirez. Si Jai Opetaia overlooks Nyika or if he’s not on and ready, he’ll have his hands full tomorrow night.
“A lot will be decided in the early rounds when Nyika gets hit by Jai Opetaia’s little gloves for the first time. I think he will adjust to Nyika the longer the fight goes on, but Nyika is going to get really quick. You’ve seen so many guys inexperienced going into it,” Hearn said.
Nyika may not get cut because he is fighting a guy who is killing himself to get to the cruiserweight limit and has been through two serious wars with Mairis Briedis in 2022 and 2024. Both fights were grueling for Opetaia, with more punishment than him. had in any of his previous fights during his 10-year professional career.
Opetaia’s managers have fed him a lot of soft lower-level opposition to strengthen him. So he doesn’t have the experience that Hearn is doing in the professional game. It’s just the two fights against Briedis, which were pure hell for him. He was lucky to have fought the Latvian late in his career and not in his prime. Briedis proved that Opetaia is not the big talent that Hearn and others are promoting him to be.
“Once Jai starts putting it on you, you’ve got to hold on and fight. If he does, I think this fight will be over in three rounds. I really do because if Jai comes out and starts to be aggressive with Nyika, he won’t box much. He also likes to stand and trade,” Hearn said.
Opetaia’s jaw problems
It could be a mistake for Opetaia to attack the 6’6″ Nyika early in the contest. Doing so could cause the scar tissue around her eyes to open early, which she doesn’t need. Jai is better off getting cuts later. Also, he has jaw problems from a bad rest during the Briedis fight. If there is a weakness, Nyika will bring it out.
“If you look at Nyika’s weakness, sometimes he gets hit one too many times,” Hearn said. “Maybe it’s because he’s fighting at a lower level and he’s not as worried or fired up. These are the type of fights where you’re going to see the best of someone like Nyika.”
Opetaia has the same weaknesses as Nyika when it comes to getting hit a lot, and that’s understandable, though, because he’s an advanced slugger who tries to knock everyone out. For this he received a beating and was forced to run in his two fights with Briedis, especially the second. It looked like a lion was chasing him in the second competition. His bug eyes had a look of 100% pure fear, and you can’t blame him. Briedis was putting the fire under his back.
“This kid has pedigree. Nyika is a serious fighter. It’s not like he’s not good enough to become world champion. I’m sure Nyika will become world champion, but will he be world champion tomorrow night? Can be too soon. If it’s special, maybe it does,” Hearn said.
At 29, if Nyika isn’t ready now, he never will be. Hearn talks about him like he’s a young pup instead of a fighter who’s over 30. He’s had a long amateur career, fighting far, far better technical fighters than Opetaia could ever hope to be. In terms of experience, Nyika is more than ready to win this fight. If he loses, it’s not because he was deficient in the experience department.
