It’s a tale of two massive punchers.
Late replacement David Nyika aims to become the Bruno Surace of Australia when he takes on fellow countryman and unbeaten cruiserweight world champion Jai Opetaia next Wednesday.
Nyila (10-0, 9 KOs), a 2020 Olympic bronze medalist, has decided to bet on himself. On short notice, the 29-year-old opted to replace mandatory challenger Huseyin Cinkara after the latter suffered a broken ankle, forcing him to withdraw from his world title shot against Opetaia (26-0, 20 KOs).
‘The Nice Guy’ has yet to face a significant name, but he does have a name. That would be Tommy Karpency, who scored an upset win over former light heavyweight champion Chad Dawson in 2014 and fought former longtime WBC 175-pound titleholder Adonis Stevenson, who stopped him in three rounds the following year. Karpency, 38, a southpaw, always had solid skills but never had the chin to stand up against elite punchers. Six of his nine defeats have come by way of knockout. That said, the lack of experience against good fighters could be a serious fault for Nyika in this bout.
Nyika is like a taller, lengthier version of Ryan Garcia. He uses his jab, controls the distance, and tries to take you out with his signature left hand. However, like Garcia, Nyika stands very tall and doesn’t move his head all that much. Furthermore, Nyika lacks speed.
Opetaia Will Be Too Much
Opetaia, on the other hand, is the truth. He has an elite skillset and the résumé to back it up. He has two wins over future Hall of Famer Mairis Briedis. He also annihilated two British prospects in, Ellis Zorro and Jordan Thompson, within the last two years and is coming off yet another incendiary performance over Jack Massey in October. There’s a reason why this man has failed to make unification fights. It has nothing to do with him. Well, that’s not true technically. It is because of him. It’s because he’s so good and so powerful, but he doesn’t have that world-class popularity that would—in most cases—lock him in these big fights he’s been desperately seeking. As a result of his struggle to secure these bouts, Opetaia will likely have to move up to heavyweight. But first, he has to get through Nyika.
Styles make fights, and Nyika’s blend isn’t a good one in this fight. Both guys can knock your brains out, but one man is slower with lackadaisical defense, while the other is faster, aggressive, more explosive, and throws punches in bunches. Nyika has a puncher’s chance for sure, but he’s there to be hit, and that’s like giving Aaron Judge a fastball down the middle of the plate every at-bat. It’s only a matter of time before he times one of those pitches and smashes it to bits. Opetaia will destroy Nyika, but it’ll be a fun fight for a little while until it becomes an ugly, one-sided massacre.
Jai Opetaia vs. David Nyika Prediction
I’d suggest making your bathroom breaks in advance because you don’t want to miss the early wreckage.
Prediction: Opetaia by third round knockout.
Jai Opetaia vs. David Nyika Betting Odds
Per DraftKings SportsBook, Jai Opetaia is the favorite at -800, and David Nyika is the underdog at +550.
Jai Opetaia: TKO/KO -260; Decision +340
Draw: +2000
David Nyika: TKO/KO +900; Decision +1600
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