Jai Opetaia And David Nyika Ready For War – ‘I’ve Got Just As Much Dog’

Jai Opetaia and David Nyika held their final presser ahead of their cruiserweight clash on January 8.
Opetaia currently has the IBF Cruiserweight Title and Ring Magazine Belt. He is undefeated with a 26-0 record. 20 of his victories have come by knockout, showing he is a dangerous puncher. He is also a southpaw, which makes him tricky to read. That southpaw element has drawn a small comparison with Oleksandr Usyk as that fight could happen later down the line.
Opetaia will box in Australia, his country, for the first time since 2022 when he beat Mairis Briedis. He arrives into the fight with a win over Jack Massey. But he cannot afford to overlook Nyika. The latter is 10-0, with nine wins by knockout. Opetaia must be careful of his puncher power, given he has stopped his last seven. Nyika defeated Tommy Karpency in his previous fight as both men were confident of winning.
Opetaia’s Quotes
“Definitely. It’s good to be hear. Good to be back in Australia, home soil. It’s been a long time coming. We’ve done a lot of international travel, a lot of international fights, so we’re not new to these big stages anymore. This feels like another day in the office. We’re meant to be here. We’ve done our apprenticeship. This is just all though to the labour, you know what I mean. We’ve built this division on my back, you know what I mean? So, it’s good. I’m ready and I’m sick of these interviews and I just want to fight.
“I believe that all my last opponents have [believed that they can become world champion]. I’ve sat down and had table faces and stuff with them and they’ve all had that fire in their eye. They’ve all believed that this is their time to become a world champion. Just like I believe this is another stepping stone to my journey to greatness, to becoming the undisputed. But without getting the job done on the eighth, it all means nothing. So I must win,” Opetaia
Nyika’s Aim
“That’s it, yeah. This is what we pray for. I’ve trained hard, I believe in myself. I’ve got just as much heart, just as much grit as Jai [Opetaia]. Jai obviously has the experience that I don’t possess and I’m going to prove to everybody in 48 hours the capability that I have and the ability to become new cruiserweight world champion.”
“I think I can beat anybody. Put anybody in front of me. I’ve worked with the best cruiserweights, the best heavyweights in the world. I can beat anybody and I’ll show everybody in 48 hours. That’s all it takes. You know I’ve prepared for this for the last 15 years. I’ve never aimed any lower than the top. This is just my opportunity, my chance to prove to the world exactly why I’m here. I’ve got just as much dog as Jai and he knows that. He know that I come to fight. It’s whatever he wants to do. Whatever transpires on the night, I’m here for it,” Nyika
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