Opetaia ruthlessly KOs Nyika in 4th round to retain cruiserweight title
Aims for three-belt unification fight with 'Zurdo' Ramirez next; heavyweight Huni stops Potgieter in 2nd round of co-feature
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Jai Opetaia brutally knocked out David Nyika in the fourth round of an all-action fight to retain the lineal and IBF cruiserweight titles in a homecoming fight on Wednesday at Gold Coast Convention Centre in Broadbeach, Australia.
Opetaia was boxing before a sell-out crowd of about 6,000 and in his home region for the first time in 2½ years since he won the title by decision from Mairis Briedis in their first fight, a dramatic slugfest at the same venue in July 2022. Opetaia has clearly established himself as the No. 1 man in the division as he retained the lineal title for the fifth time and the IBF title for the second time in his second reign.
“All that style shit went out the window. That was a dog fight,” Opetaia said. “I respect that. He wanted these belts. He kept coming forward, he kept punching, man. Thank you, David. That was a good fight. We gave this crowd a good fight.”
The destruction of Nyika in the main event of a Tasman Fighters card on DAZN set up Opetaia for a possible three-belt unification bout with WBO/WBA titleholder Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez in the spring, a fight both fighters want and one the promoters are anxious to put on.
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