JAI OPETAIA brutally dismantled David Nyika inside four rounds to successfully defend his IBF cruiserweight title in Australia.
The 29-year-old had been set to face Huseyin Cinkara before an injury ruled the German out of the contest.
Instead, New Zealand’s Nyika was selected as a late replacement for the clash but he had no answer for the power of Opetaia.
He was dropped first midway through the fourth but managed to climb to his feet. But Opetaia, smelling blood, did not let him off the hook and closed the show at the Gold Coast Convention Centre with a venomous left hook.
With Nyika out cold, there was no need for a count from referee David Field and the challenger did not get back on his feet for a good five minutes after the stoppage.
Opetaia said: “David thank you. He took the fight on three weeks notice and he came here to fight. He gave me a dog fight and I respect that. He came here and slugged it out and wanted these belts. I thank you.
“There was a little bit of extra pressure but we thrive off that, we use it as energy. All that style shit went out the window. That was a dog fight and I respect that. He kept coming forward, he kept punching.”
This was Opetaia’s first fight in Australia since he won the world title by beating Mairis Briedis in July 2022 and he seemed in the mood to put on a show.
Nyika, meanwhile, was switching stances throughout the first but Opetaia was having little trouble closing the gap and ended an action-packed first round by landing a big right hook a few seconds before the bell.
But Nyika was refusing to wilt, despite heavy fire from Opetaia. It was the Australian who seemed to make another breakthrough towards the end of the second, with another right hook that landed on the button and stiffened the challenger up.
It seemed to hurt Nyika but the New Zealander decided to fire back and ended the round by landing a big right hand of his own, which drew a smile from Opetaia.
But the success did little to slow down Opetaia, who had no problem marching his taller opponent down throughout the third round. Nyika seemed to be feeling the pace already and appeared to be fighting just to keep Opetaia off instead of setting anything up himself.
And Opetaia began to turn the screw early in the fourth, landing with two more big right hooks inside the opening 30 seconds. Nyika handled them well but he was down midway through the round when a left hook, right hand combination landed in centre ring.
He was up quickly but it was over in brutal fashion with 45 seconds left of the round, when a crushing series of hooks, which concluded with a full-blooded left, left Nyika out cold, face down on the canvas. The official time of the stoppage was 2:17 of the fourth.
When asked what he wants to do next, Opetaia set his sights on the WBA and WBO champion Gilberto Ramirez.
He said: “Ramirez… I’m coming for the belts. I’ve been waiting for these fights for a long time, I’m coming for my belts.”
