Opetaia Stops Nyika In A Brutal KO

Jai Opetaia stopped David Nyika in the fourth round to retain his IBF and Ring Magazine Cruiserweight Titles.
Opetaia put on a masterful performance in a fight with plenty of pressure. He boxed in front of his home crowd for the first time since 2022 when he beat Mairis Briedis. Nyika tried to press the action in the first round by getting Opetaia on the ropes. Opetaia’s footwork allowed him to get out of harm’s way as he turned the tables near the end of the first, having found his range.
Opetaia landed combinations in the second round, with Nyika offering little resistance. While it was a fairly quiet third round, Opetaia reacted with a strong response. He dropped Nyika with a right hand in the fourth. Although Nyika beat the count, Opetaia continued to move forward. He landed a big left hand, which stopped his man. There were worries over Nyika’s condition, but eventually got up. In his post-fight comments, Opetaia called out the WBA, WBO Cruiserweight Champion Zurdo Ramirez for a unification.
Post-Fight
“David, thank you. Man, he took the fight on three weeks’ notice, he came here to fight, he gave me a dogfight. I respect that. I take my hat off to David. We love this. Hard work every day. It’s a team effort that makes these things happen. From the fighter to the trainers to the promoter to the manager. So, thank you. “There’s always pressure, so we sort of thrive off that. Man, I’m just so happy with the crowd coming out here, showing love. Thank you all so much.
“Man, all that style went out the window. That was a dogfight, and I respect that. He kept coming forward, he kept punching. Thank you, David. We gave this crowd a good fight. Ramirezzzzzz, I’m coming for the belts! I’m coming for my belts. That’s a callout of WBO champion Gilberto Ramirez. We knew Opetaia was likely to target a unification fight next,” Opetaia said
“I mean, this is the most brutal sport of all, and you saw it up close. I believe David Nyika will be a world champion in the future, but not tonight. He came up against not just the best fighter in Australia, but one of the best fighters in the world, in Jai Opetaia. “You’re talking about a very special fighter. It’s not just the belts at cruiserweight, it’s the belts at heavyweight. Huge future ahead. I think Jai’s humble enough to not yet talk about the name of Oleksandr Usyk; I’m not. Jai is gonna pick up all the belts in the cruiserweight division to become undisputed,” Eddie Hearn
Full Card
Jai Opetaia (c) defeated David Nyika by KO in round 4
Justis Huni defeated Shaun Potgieter by TKO in round 2
Max McIntyre defeated Abdulselam Saman by TKO in round 4
Ben Mahoney defeated Fan Zhang by unanimous decision (100-90 x3)
Teremoana Teremoana defeated Osasu Otobo by KO in round 1
Shauna Browne defeated Taylah Gentzen by split decision (97-92, 96-95, 94-95)
Billy McAllister defeated Jordan Towns by TKO in round 2
Runqi Zhou defeated Tony Ingram by unanimous decision (77-75, 78-74 x2)
Albert Tu’ua and Kodi Shallali fought to a majority draw (37-37 x2, 38-37 Tu’ua)
Jag Guthmann-Chester defeated Jai Williams by unanimous decision (30-26 x3)
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