Dec 17, 2024
2 min read
The search for a new opponent led to an upgrade and far more significant fight to the local fan base.
The Ring has confirmed that David Nyika has answered the call to challenge Jai Opetaia. The pair of unbeaten cruiserweights will contest for Opetaia'...
The search for a new opponent led to an upgrade and far more significant fight to the local fan base.
The Ring has confirmed that David Nyika has answered the call to challenge Jai Opetaia. The pair of unbeaten cruiserweights will contest for Opetaia's Ring/IBF championship atop a Jan. 8 DAZN show from Gold Coast Convention Centre in Broadbeach, Australia.
Sanctioning for was formally granted by the IBF, who confirmed to The Ring that the bout will now satisfy Opetaia's mandatory title defense obligation.
Sydney's Opetaia (26-0, 20 KOs) was in need of a new opponent after mandatory challenger Huseyin Cinkara (22-0, 18 KOs) broke his ankle during training camp and was forced to withdraw.
As previously reported by The Ring, Cinkara will be out for at least three months before he can even resume training.
Nyika (10-0, 9 KOs)—a 29-year-old New Zealander based in Gatton, Queensland—immediately rose to the occasion, as reported by Courier News' Pete Badel.
The 2020 Olympian was the perfect fit for a number of reasons. He is in the IBF top ten and far greater resonates with the local fans than would Cinkara.
It means that Opetaia will have to split a few cheers for his fifth attempted defense of The Ring cruiserweight crown.
He claimed the crown and the IBF belt in a thrilling July 2022 win over Mairis Briedis (28-3, 20 KOs) at the very venue which will host this fight.
Opetaia made one successful IBF defense before he was stripped for failure to honor a mandatory rematch against Briedis.
Ironically, Briedis didn't fight during that period all the way up to their rescheduled May 18 second act. Opetaia scored a repeat win on the Oleksandr Usyk-Tyson Fury Ring/undisputed heavyweight championship undercard in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
A knockout victory over Jack Massey on Oct. 12 marked Opetaia's third straight bout in Riyadh. The win marked his sixth knockout in his last eight fight.
Nyika has stopped his last seven opponents but takes a considerable leap in competition for his first world title challenge.
The bout will mark the third of the year for Nyika, who joined Opetaia on the May 18 Usyk-Fury undercard. He fought much earlier on the show, and scored a fourth-round stoppage of Michael Seitz (12-0 at the time).
Nyika then returned home to his native soil for his most recent start. He tore through veteran American journeyman Tommy Karpency (31-9-1) and stopped him in the third round on Sept. 14 in Auckland, New Zealand.
Opetaia's last fight in Australia came in his first win over Briedis. Along with his three fights in Riyadh, he also registered a fourth-round knockout of unbeaten Jordan Thompson last Sept. 30 at OVO Arena Wembley in London.
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