Jai Opetaia 199.5 Vs. David Nyika 199.5 – Wednesday Rating Results on DAZN

IBF cruiserweight champion Jai Opetaia and David Nyika both weighed in at 199.5 lbs for the fight on Wednesday, January 8, at the Gold Coast Convention Centre, Broadbeach, Australia.

Nyika looked well defined, showing very little fat on her 6’6″ frame. During the shootout, these boxers faced each other head on. It had a professional wrestling kind of feel to it, and I was waiting for the theater by the door. That was all that was missing.

Opetaia (26-0, 20 KOs) is the favorite, but Nyika (10-0, 9 KOs) has a real chance to win. He caught Jai at the peak of his career after his two tough fights with former IBF champion Mairis Briedis. He has been anointed. The event will be shown live on DAZN.

Hear the Hypes Opetaia

“David Nyika is here to fight. He is one of the best novices this part of the world has seen in a long time. He took it with three weeks’ notice. He saw something. He believes, but tomorrow night, he faces the beast of Jai Opetaia. This will be an outstanding fight,” said Eddie Hearn speaking to DAZN Boxing on today’s Jai Opetaia and David Nyika weigh-in match.

“He sells for what he is. You are an animal. He won’t come out, sing you a song, give you a happy face. He just wants to fight,” Hearn told Sporting News Australia, referring to Opetaia. “That’s Jai. You are a genius. What you see is what you get, that’s why people love to see him fight.

“He is a true champion. If you say Usyk. I don’t see any heavyweights who can beat Usyk. Maybe Jai can’t beat Usyk, but it’s a hell of a fight. If you look at Usyk becoming an undisputed cruiserweight and then moving up to heavyweight that is undisputed. Same goal as Jai Oeptaia,” said Hearn.

The fight between Opetaia and Usyk is still on because Jai still needs to collect three more belts before he can achieve his goal of becoming the undisputed cruiserweight champion. That will take a while. It would be better if Opetaia puts his goal aside and moves up to heavyweight next door to challenge Usyk for his three belts. He can always return to a stage to continue collecting them all.

“If we can do that at cruiserweight, I think it makes Usyk’s fight even bigger. “You think it’s the undefeated cruiserweight champion of the world fighting the undefeated world champion,” Hearn said. That’s a big fight. He must go through David Nyika. It won’t be easy.”

Nyika has a real chance to win this fight if he is able to hold on and reach the second round of the tournament and start to break Jai with pressure. Opetaia’s face breaks when hit hard, and she has those eye ridges that tend to swell when hit. If Nyika can shoot enough from those eye ridges, he can cut him and maybe hit a stop.

“I know he’s a favorite to do it, but if he does that, you have to focus on other champions. I think the Zurdo fight is a smart fight. “Get Wednesday out of the way, the goal is to bridge the gap,” Hearn said.