Eddie Hearn believes Jai Opetaia can knock out David Nyika in three rounds on Wednesday night if the challenger stays and fights when it comes to the IBF cruiserweight champion at the Gold Coast Convention Centre, Broadbeach, Australia.
Hearn sees the result of the fight until Opetaia (26-0, 20 KO). If he attacks his replacement opponent Nyika (10-0, 9 KOs) at full strength in the first three rounds, he will have no choice but to fight. When that happens, Hearn expects Opetaia to be too much for the lanky 6’6″ stork.
Weight drained sample
Eddie doesn’t talk about how drained and used Opetaia appeared at the weigh-in. He seemed used to making weight, and it is quite clear that he is going through hell to make the cruiserweight limit.
Opetaia is a small heavyweight with the same size as Oleksandr Usyk, and that’s where he should fight at this point in his career. He’s over the cruiserweight division, and it’s going to take a lot for him to make weight to stay there.
Nyika could benefit from a drained Opetaia on Wednesday night and finish the job that Mairis Briedis started last May. Opetaia was beaten on him by Briedis, and was forced to flee in the championship rounds to avoid being knocked out.
Nyika is the first world-class fighter that Opetaia has fought since the Briedis fight, and he could go down if he is forced to fight hard in every round.
“There is Nyika head to head, asking Jai Opetaia how his 18 hour flight to Saudi Arabia. Do not forget that he was there a couple of weeks ago for the big fight. This is a serious fight” , said Eddie Hearn Matchroom BoxingThey are talking about Wednesday’s fight between IBF cruiserweight champion Jai Opetaia and David Nyika.
“This is a massive fight at 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 he Jai Opetaia faces Nyika or if he’s not fired up and ready, he’ll have his hands full tomorrow night.
“So much will be decided in those first few rounds when Nyika will be first touched by those little gloves of Jai Opetaia. I think it will suit Nyika the harder the fight, but Nyika will unravel really quickly. You see so many guys without the experience to go there ” said Hearn.
Nyika can’t get away because he is fighting a guy who is killing himself to make the cruiserweight limit and he went through two serious wars with Mairis Briedis in 2022 and 2024. Both battles were ambushes for Opetaia, with him taking more punishment than he he had in any of his previous at-bats during his 10-year professional career.
Opetaia’s managers fed him a lot of lower-level opposition to build him up. So, he doesn’t have the experience that Hearn is hitting in the pro game. It is only about 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 proved that Opetaia is not the great talent that Hearn and others are making him out to be.
“Once Jai starts getting on top of you, you have to stay and fight. If he does that, I think this fight will be over in three rounds. I really want to because if Jai comes out there and starts getting aggressive with Nyika, don’t he doesn’t have to box long. He also likes to stay and trade,” Hearn said.
Opetaia’s Jaw Issues
It could be a mistake for Opetaia to attack the 6’6″ Nyika before the contest. Doing so could result in the scar tissue around his eyes opening earlier, which he doesn’t need. Jai is better off suffering cuts later. Also, he has jaw problems from a bad break during the Briedis fight. If there is a weakness here, Nyika will bring it out.
“If you look at Nyika’s weakness, sometimes he gets hit a little bit too much,” Hearn said. “Maybe it’s because he fights at a lower level and he’s not as worried or as activated. These are the kind of fights where you see the best of someone like Nyika.”
Opetaia has the same weaknesses as Nyika in terms of getting hit a lot, and that’s understandable, though, because he’s a slugger who tries to strike everyone out. That’s why he was beaten and was forced to run in his two fights with Briedis, especially the second one. It 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 them. Briedis put the fire under his back.
“This kid has a 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 might be too soon. If it’s special, maybe it does,” Hearn said.
At 29, if Nyika isn’t ready now, she never will be. Hearn talks about him as 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. In terms of experience, Nyika is more than ready to win this fight. If he loses, it’s not because he was deficient in the experience department.
