IBF cruiserweight champion Jai Opetaia and challenger David Nyika both weighed in at 199.5 lbs on Monday’s weigh-in for their fight this Wednesday, January 8th, at the Gold Coast Convention Centre, Broadbeach, in Australia.
Nyika looked well-defined, showing very little fat on his 6’6″ frame. During the face-off, the two fighters went head-to-head. It had a professional wrestling-type feel, and I was waiting for some theatrics from the door. That was the only thing missing.
Opetaia (26-0, 20 KOs) is the favorite, but Nyika (10-0, 9 KOs) has a real chance of winning. He’s catching Jai at a good point in his career after his two grueling fights against former IBF champion Mairis Briedis. He’s been softened up. The event will be shown live on DAZN.
Hearn Hypes Opetaia
“David Nyika is here to fight. He’s one of the best amateurs this part of the world has seen for a long time. He took the fight on three weeks’ notice. He sees something. He believes, but tomorrow night, he’s up against an animal in Jai Opetaia. This is going to be a brilliant fight,” said Eddie Hearn to DAZN Boxing at today’s Jai Opetaia vs. David Nyika weigh-in.
“You’re selling for what he is. He’s an animal. He’s not going to come out, sing you a song, and give you a happy face. He just wants to fight,” said Hearn to Sporting News Australia, talking about Opetaia. “That’s what Jai is. He’s a vicious savage. What you see is what you get, and that’s why people like watching him fight.
“He’s a real champion. When you say Usyk. I don’t see any heavyweights that can beat Usyk. Maybe Jai can’t beat Usyk, but it’s a hell of a fight. When you look at Usyk becoming undisputed cruiserweight and then coming up to heavyweight and becoming undisputed. That’s the same goal Jai Opeptaia has,” said Hearn.
A fight between Opetaia and Usyk is still away because Jai still needs to collect the other three belts before he accomplishes his goal of becoming the undisputed cruiserweight champion. That’s going to take a while. It might be better if Opetaia sets aside his goal and moves up to heavyweight next to challenge Usyk for his three belts. He can always return to the division to continue collecting them all.
“If we can make that happen at cruiserweight, I think it makes the Usyk fight huge. You imagine the undisputed cruiserweight world champion fighting the undisputed heavyweight world champion,” said Hearn. That’s a massive fight. He does have to get through David Nyika. It’s not going to be easy.”
Nyika has a real chance of winning this fight if he can hang on and make it to the second half of the contest to start breaking Jai with pressure. Opetaia’s face breaks down when he’s hit hard a lot, and he’s got those eye ridges that tend to swell up when hit. If Nyika can land enough shots on those eye ridges, he can cut him and possibly score a stoppage.
“I know he’s a big favorite to do it, but if he does that, you got to focus on the other champions. I think the Zurdo fight is a brilliant fight. Get Wednesday out of the way, and the goal has to be to unify the division,” said Hearn.
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