Eddie Hearn thinks Jai Opetaia can knockout David Nyika inside three rounds on Wednesday night if the challenger stands and fights when dealing with the IBF cruiserweight champion at the Gold Coast Convention Centre, Broadbeach, Australia.
Hearn sees the fight’s outcome up to Opetaia (26-0, 20 KOs). If he attacks his replacement opponent Nyika (10-0, 9 KOs) at full force inside the first three rounds, he’ll have no choice but to brawl. When that happens, Hearn expects Opetaia to be too much for the lanky 6’6″ stork.
Weight Drained Champion
Eddie fails to mention how drained and worn-looking Opetaia appeared at the weigh-in. He looked worn out from making weight, and it’s pretty clear he’s putting himself through pure hell to make the cruiserweight limit.
Opetaia is a small heavyweight with the same size as Oleksandr Usyk, and that’s where he should be fighting at this point in his career. He’s outgrown the cruiserweight division, and it’s taking a lot out of him to make weight to stay there.
Nyika could take advantage of a drained Opetaia on Wednesday night and finish the job that Mairis Briedis started last May. Opetaia got the living daylights beaten out of him by Briedis, and was forced to flee in the championship rounds to keep from being knocked out.
Nyika is the first world level fighter that Opetaia has fought since the Briedis fight, and he could fall apart if he’s forced to fight hard in every round.
“There’s Nyika in the head-to-head, asking Jai Opetaia how 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 to Matchroom Boxing, talking about Wednesday’s clash between IBF cruiserweight champion Jai Opetaia and David Nyika.
“This is a massive fight on the world level. 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 against Zurdo Ramirez. If Jai Opetaia is overlooking Nyika or if he’s not switched on and he’s not prepared, he’s going to have his hands full tomorrow night.
“So much is going to be decided in those early rounds when Nyika first gets touched by those small gloves by Jai Opetaia. I think it’s going to suit Nyika the longer the fight goes, but Nyika is going to unravel real quick in there. You’ve seen so many guys without the experience to go in there,” said Hearn.
Nyika may not unravel because he’s fighting a guy that is killing himself to make the cruiserweight limit and has been through two serious wars with Mairis Briedis in 2022 and 2024. Both of those fights were grueling ones for Opetaia, with him taking more punishment than he had in any of his previous fights during his 10-year pro career.
Opetaia’s handlers have fed him a lot of soft lower-level opposition to build him up. So, he doesn’t have the experience that Hearn is banging on about in the pro game. It’s just the two fights against Briedis, which were pure hell for him. He was lucky that he fought the Latvian at the end of his career rather than during his prime. Briedis showed that Opetaia isn’t the great talent that Hearn and others are touting him to be.
“Once Jai starts putting it on you, you have to stand and fight. If he does that, I think this fight will be over inside three rounds. I really do because if Jai comes out there and starts getting aggressive with Nyika, he’s not going to box long. He likes to stand and trade as well,” said Hearn.
Opetaia’s Jaw Issues
It could be a mistake for Opetaia to attack the 6’6″ Nyika early in the contest. Doing so could result in scar tissue around his eyes opening up early, which he doesn’t need. Jai is better off suffering cuts later. Also, he has jaw issues from a bad break during the Briedis fight. If there’s a weakness there, Nyika will bring it out.
“If you look at Nyika’s weakness, sometimes he does get hit a little too much,” said Hearn. “Maybe that’s because he’s fighting at a lower level and he’s not as concerned or as switched on. These are the kind of fights where you’ll see the very best of someone like Nyika.”
Opetaia has the same weaknesses Nyika does in terms of getting hit a lot, and that’s understandable, though, because he’s a come-forward slugger who tries to knock everyone out. That’s why he got beat up and was forced to run in his two fights with Briedis, especially the second one. He looked like a lion was chasing him in the second contest. Those bug eyes of his had a look of 100% pure fear, and you can’t blame him. Briedis was putting the fire under his backside.
“This kid has got pedigree. Nyika is a serious fighter. It’s not like he’s not good enough to become a world champion. I’m sure Nyika will become a world champion, but will he become a world champion tomorrow night? It could be too early. If he’s special, maybe he does it,” said Hearn.
At 29, if Nyika isn’t ready now, he never will. Hearn talks about him like he’s a young pup rather than a fighter pushing 30. He’s had a long amateur career, fighting far, far better technical fighters than Opetaia could ever hope to be. Experience-wise, Nyika is more than ready to win this fight. If he loses, it’s not because he was deficient in the experience department.
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