Opetaia Wins With Savage Knockout of Nyika

Any description of the savage knockout by IBF and Ring Magazine cruiserweight champion Jai Opetaia of David Nyika would barely do it justice. It’s the early leader for 2025 Knockout of the Year just eight days in.

Opetaia of Queensland (27-0, 21 KOs) thrilled hometown fans and those watching worldwide as he drilled Nyika of New Zealand (10-1, 9 KOs) at 2:17 of the fourth round at the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Center in Broadbeach.

Big Show To Start 2025

Jai Opetaia scored the first knockdown halfway through round four. Photo: DAZN/Tasman Boxing

Both men promised a show, and they delivered. Before the fight, Opetaia taunted Nyika, a longtime sparring partner, about boxing and avoiding his power.

To his enormous credit, Nyika came right at Opetaia from the opening bell. The pair of power punchers traded their best shots for four hard rounds. For the first three rounds, both hit the other man flush with hooks to the head and body, with barely a flinch.

In the fourth round, Opetaia had worn Nyika down just enough to start making his best punches count. He scored a knockdown halfway through the round with a right hook. When referee David Fields finished his count, Opetaia came at Nyika with sheer menace. He unloaded a series of accurate shots and landed a brutal right and left hook combination, spinning Nyika face down and out cold.

Enjoy the Opetaia vs. Nyika highlights here if you didn’t stay up late or wake up early in the U.S. to see the fight live.

Fields signaled the knockout and waved over medical personnel to attend to Nyika. After a few tense moments, Nyika sat up. He left the ring under his own power with a rueful smile. After the fight, Opetaia visited Nyika in the dressing room, embracing him and thanking him for the fight.

“He come here to fight. He gave me a dogfight. I respect that,” said Opetaia. “All that lead up, I thought he was going to box and play games. I respect that. He came here and slugged it out. He wanted those belts. I’ll take my hat off to David, thank you.

“Man, all that style shit went out the window,” laughed Opetaia. “That was a dogfight. I respect that. He wanted these belts, he kept coming forward, he kept punching man. Thank you, David, we gave this crowd a good fight.”

Opetaia said there was pressure to perform in front of his hometown fans, but said he thrives off it and uses it for extra energy. “I’m just so happy with the crowd coming out here, showing love. Thank you for that.”

Opetaia Rules The Cruiserweight Division

Jai Opetaia took out a brave but outgunned David Nyika in four rounds. Photo: DAZN/Tasman Fighters

Opetaia reaffirmed his status as the top-ranked cruiserweight in the world, drawing attention to this under-appreciated division. If you like the power of the heavyweights but the speed of smaller weight divisions, cruiserweight is for you.

The 29-year-old Opetaia is now on a mission to unify the division, following the path of former unified champion Oleksandr Usyk. It’s no mystery who’s first on his hit list.

“Ra-meeeer-rez, I’m coming for the belts! I’m coming for the rest of the belts. I’ve been waiting for these fights for a long time, these unification fights,” said Opetaia. Tasman Fighters promoter Mick Francis said there is discussion about making this matchup happen on May 3 in Riyadh.

It would be one of the most exciting cruiserweight showdowns in a decade, and on Cinco de Mayo weekend, providing extra motivation for Zurdo.

Please don’t insist on rescheduling the original mandatory challenger, Huseyin Cinkara of Turkey (22-0, 18 KOs). With respect, Cinkara’s team shouldn’t let their fighter near Opetaia.

Matchroom Sport chairman Eddie Hearn expressed interest in a matchup with Oleksandr Usyk at heavyweight for Opetaia in 12 to 18 months despite the Ukrainian pound-for-pound king stating he’d be willing to move down to cruiserweight to become undisputed in the division for a second time.

Give Nyika credit for betting on himself despite the loss. It didn’t hurt Canelo Alvarez to do the same early in his career against Floyd Mayweather, and the lessons he learned from that loss made him a better fighter and a multiple-division undisputed world champion.

CompuBox stats for Opetaia vs Nyika. Courtesy: CompuBox

Undercard Highlights: Huni and Teremoana Score KO Wins

Justis Huni said after his knockout win he’d like to fight Britain’s Moses Itauma in 2025. Photo: DAZN/Tasman Boxing

Prospect Justis Huni of Brisbane (12-0, 7 KOs) scored a knockout victory of his own, successfully defending his regional WBO Global and IBF Pan Pacific heavyweight titles with a second-round TKO over Shaun Potgieter of South Africa (10-2, 7 KOs).

Huni forced referee Phil Austin to step in after a series of hard right hooks with Portgieter pinned into the corner to save him from more damage at 33 seconds of the round.

“I’m continuing to get better every time I step out here. The more activity, the better,” said Huni.

Teremoana Jnr. delivered another first round destruction of Osasu Otobo. Photo: DAZN/Tasman Fighters

Heavyweight showman Teremoana Junior of Brisbane (6-0, 6 KOs) made quick work of Osasu Otobo of Germany (11-2, 5 KOs). Teremoana only needed 57 seconds to score a knockout win. He attacked Otobo early to the body, then sealed the win with a single perfectly placed right hook to the head. The Australian’s speed and footwork were too much for Otobo.

Following the victory, Teremoana treated the fans to a haka shoutout backed by two of his team members, honoring his Cook Island culture heritage, which is becoming his calling card.

After the knockout, Teremoana turned to look directly into the DAZN camera, an impressive flex. Photo: DAZN/Tasman Fighters

“Fifty-seven seconds, I thought it would go a bit longer, but he wanted to fight. If you want to come to fight, I’m going to take it from you,” said Teremoana.