Latest news with #JaiOpetaia
RNZ News
17 hours ago
- Health
- RNZ News
'My stocks only rose': David Nyika beaten but not broken
David Nyika, left, and Tommy Karpency at Duco Boxing Fight Night at the Viaduct Events Centre, Auckland on 14 September 2024. Photo: Andrew Cornaga / David Nyika's latest fight was not in the ring, but in his own head. The Kiwi cruiserweight is set to return to the ring for the first time since he was brutally knocked out by Jai Opetaia. The Olympic medalist will meet Kiwi journeyman Nik 'the Greek' Charalampous in Sydney on the undercard of Sonny Bill Williams vs Paul Gallen. As it will be his first bout since being finished for the first time, Nyika is unsure how his mind will react in the ring. "If I do show flecks of uncertainty or hesitation, shit, maybe I should retire? I don't want to be in this sport forever. It's a dangerous sport, but I know I've got the goods," he said. Nyika admitted that after such a savage stoppage the self doubt can't help but creep in a bit. "I disconnected. I just unplugged and when I started training camp again, it was like, 'oh wow, you're going to do this again? Are you David?'" he said. "Those skeletons in the closet come creeping out and they're like, 'hey man, remember last time we did this?'" "Of course there are going to be doubts. Of course it's going to be difficult, but this is a difficult sport. It's hard. I respect my health and I appreciate my brain. So, if I can't get through this, or if I look a mess on fight night, maybe I shouldn't be here. It's up to me to prove to the world that I'm here to beat the best." Despite the setback, Nyika hasn't shifted the goal posts. "I know I'm up there with the best in the world, and I proved that against Jai. As disappointing as the outcome was, my stocks only rose after that fight." Nyika said he felt no fear from Charalampous as the two squared off on Wednesday in Auckland. "Nothing. He's dead behind the eyes. Nick's been here before. This isn't Nick's first big test. So yeah, case in point, he's been the distance with Jai over tyre. He's the real deal and that he won't be overruled by the occasion or anything. So I've got a real life that I have to catch." Charalampous has labelled Nyika a hype job and believes he will officially end Nyika's career. "I think Nyika is an overrated pretty boy. One of us went 10 rounds with Jai, the other got stopped. I'm ready to go hard. I think he's just had everything handed to him on a platter, when he first stepped up to fight adversity, he went to sleep." Australian Jai Opetaia knocks down opponent David Nyika of New Zealand during the Ring Magazine and IBF World Cruiserweight title fight in Gold Coast, 2025. Photo: AAP / Despite the trash talk, Nyika has no ill feelings towards his opponent. "It's all complimentary. It's all a compliment to me. I like Nik. He's a top competitor. I've sparred him in the past. Last time would have been 10 years ago. I'm appreciative for him to take the fight." Instead, Nyika is focussed on to reminding the world of his potential. "I want everybody to tune in because this is going to be probably my best opportunity to actually showcase my ability. The fight against Jai, it was a whirlwind and as much as I can take away from that, I didn't get to show my full repertoire, my whole arsenal. I know that Nik's going to bring plenty of challenges and he's an awkward, crafty, difficult fighter. I just have to go in there with the right game plan, but I know I can hurt him." The pair have sparred in the past, and Nyika does not expect much progression from his opponent. "He's a crafty operator as well. I think I've changed and grown a lot since we last sparred. I don't imagine he's done much growing in that time." To fight on the same card as Sonny Bill is a special moment for Nyika. "I don't really subscribe to that rivalry per se, but I know a lot of other people do and I really like Sonny. He's taught me some really good values in life. So he's got my full support and I know he's an incredible athlete. I think naturally Paul Gallen is the better fighter, but I believe that Sonny Bill is the better athlete and I think that will prevail on the night." The 29-year-old still has his eyes firmly on a world title. "I'm young, hungry. I don't have a family to provide for, I will very soon but right now I can be selfish, I can be hard-headed, I can accomplish anything right now, and it's just a matter of following the necessary processes and just trusting that process because I know I've got the goods, I know I'm with the right people." As for a rematch with Opetaia? "That Post-It note hasn't come down off my mirror. I've still got my eyes on that prize. The route has changed, it wasn't meant to be the way it was. Whatever will be will be, and it wasn't on the night. So I still want that fight and whenever, wherever, I want to be prepared and I need better preparation for that fight. I had three weeks notice but I went in with full confidence and I'll always believe in myself."
RNZ News
19 hours ago
- General
- RNZ News
Kiwi boxer David Nyika set for return to the ring
Kiwi boxer David Nyika is set for a return to the ring. Nyika will fight this month for the first time since his vicious defeat against Jai Opetaia. Sports reporter Jonty Dine spoke to Lisa Owen. Tags: To embed this content on your own webpage, cut and paste the following: See terms of use.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Aussie champ's seven-figure offer to put belts on table
Jai Opetaia is prepared to make a seven-figure sacrifice in his drawn-out quest for world boxing title unification. The Australian cruiserweight sensation (27-0) will defend his IBF and The Ring belts on the Gold Coast this Sunday against unbeaten Italian Claudio Squeo (17-0). They'll come face-to-face for the first time on Wednesday before headlining a stacked card that includes Conor Wallace, Ben Mahoney, Max McIntyre and Teremoana Teremoana. The fight comes almost three years after an unfancied Opetaia defied two breaks in his jaw to beat champion Mairis Briedis and claim those titles. He's fought five times since - the Briedis rematch last year his only genuine challenge - but is yet to land a shot at the other three belts in his division. The Ring cruiserweight champion Jai Opetaia's rise to world champion has been impressive 😮💨Here are some of his best performances 🌟🥊 — Ring Magazine (@ringmagazine) June 3, 2025 Badou Jack owns the WBC belt but it's WBO and WBA champion Gilberto Ramirez firmly in Opetaia's sights, the Mexican two-weight champion due for a mandatory defence later this month and insistent he will face the Australian next. "I'll believe it when I see it," Opetaia told AAP. "(Former WBO champion Chris) Billam-Smith said that same stuff before he lost to Ramirez. "They all talk like that. "So when they're f***ing ready, I'll be ready." Should both fighters win, an Opetaia-Ramirez, four-belt unification bout would sit nicely on the undercard to September's historic duel between Canelo Alvarez and Terence Crawford in Las Vegas. The purse on a blockbuster card would swell into the millions and traditionally be split between fighters who both hold two belts. But Opetaia said he'd be willing to leave half of his cut on the table if that sways the Mexican great to sign the deal. "If I have to, and they're being that hard to deal with," he said. "It should be down the middle but if he wants to be a sook, bro, take more, then. "I don't give a f***. I personally believe I'm the best and all I have to do is win, then the next fight I'll get paid. "It's not the money I'm chasing, it's the belts." A stumbling block presents in Youtuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul, who will headline the Ramirez card on June 28 and has a long list of future targets that includes the Mexican, but not Opetaia. "Why don't they ask him about me?," Opetaia said of the former Disney star. "If he wants to get bashed, I'll bash him. He won't fight me. Why am I even talking about him? "I am the best cruiserweight in the world and no one is until they beat me." That will be the unranked Squeo's tall task in his first fight outside of Italy, the 34-year-old known as 'The Red Bull' arriving with a reputation as a knockout specialist. "It is annoying and especially these fights like this; dangerous and it's all risk and not much reward," Opetaia said of the non-mandatory defence designed to keep him busy. "It's just how it works. I have to stay on the ball and it's what makes the good great; the ones who stay switched on throughout these things."
RNZ News
a day ago
- Entertainment
- RNZ News
Boxing: David Nyika to fight journeyman after brutal knockdown
Australian Jai Opetaia knocks down opponent David Nyika of New Zealand during the Ring Magazine and IBF World Cruiserweight title fight in Gold Coast, 2025. Photo: AAP / New Zealand boxer David Nyika is set to step back in the ring for his first fight since his brutal loss to Jai Opetaia. The Olympic bronze medallist and two-time Commonwealth Games champion will take on Kiwi journeyman Nik Charalampous in Sydney next month. The fight is part of the undercard to the Sonny Bill Williams-Paul Gallen fight on 16 July . Nyika, 29, was knocked out by Australian Opetaia in the fourth round of their IBF world cruiserweight title fight in January. It was his first defeat in his brief professional career. "I'm ready," said Nyika. "My journey restarts here. "Fair play to Jai, he was the better fighter on the night. But true champions get back up again when they get knocked down - and I have no doubt I am going to be world champion." Veteran boxer Charalampous has a 23-6-2 record. "I think Nyika is an overrated pretty boy," Charalampous said. "One of us went 10 rounds with Jai Opetaia, the other got stopped. I'm ready to go hard!"
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Australia's best boxer reveals what would happen if he got in the ring with influencer turned 'fighter' Jake Paul
Aussie cruiserweight king Jai Opetaia has revealed exactly what he'd do to Jake Paul if the two ever met in the ring, ahead of his title defence on the Gold Coast this weekend. Opetaia, 29, will take on Italy's Claudio Squeo on Sunday where the undefeated Aussie will look to make his third straight defence of his IBF title. If Opetaia is successful he will likely be matched up against Mexican southpaw Gilbert Ramirez, who holds the WBO and WBA straps. However, YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul has also revealed his quest to be Cruiserweight champion and has spoken about fighting Ramirez. Opetaia says Paul's chances against himself would be astronomically small. 'It's why I don't even like talking about Jake Paul,' Opetaia told News Corp. 'That guy, he isn't world class. 'C'mon, now. 'I would bash the s*** out of Jake Paul, literally.' Opetaia, who boasts a 27-0 record and is Australia's best pound-for-pound boxer, would not say no if the The Problem Child wanted to fight him. 'But if Jake Paul wants to fight me, bring it on,' he said. 'I'll absolutely bash him on the way to becoming undisputed. 'But we know he's smarter than that. 'These guys, they're about business. 'They don't want to be the best fighter in the world, they want to be the most famous. 'And there's a real big difference in the two.' Opetia's fight against Ramirez is a top priority for the Aussie pug, but he understands if the Mexican wants to chase a big payday against Paul. 'I feel like I'm the cruiserweight that generates the most money with [Ramirez], the biggest payday fight, but it's a risk for him,' he told The Ring. 'I honestly believe if he wants to call himself the best cruiserweight in the world, he's got to beat me first, and until he does that he's not. 'I don't know what he wants to do or what he's trying to do ... he's chasing coin, you can't knock him if he wants to fight Jake Paul for a huge lump sum of money, who'd turn that down? I'd bash Jake Paul for a [expletive] couple mil, too. So it is what it is. 'I'm chasing unification fights. I just believe I am the best in the division and I believe if I just keep winning, the money's going to come anyway, so I just need the fights to happen.'
