Australian IBF cruiserweight champion Jai Opetaia and New Zealand contender David Nyika battled it out in a heated contest on Wednesday, January 8th. In an event promoted by Matchroom, Goldstar and Tazman Fighters, Opetaia once again proved himself to be one of the most dominant cruiserweights around as he dominated his opponent on course to a 4th round technical knockout victory. The two fighters headlined at the Gold Coast Convention Centre in Broadbeach, Queensland, based in Australia.

Jai Opetaia Vs. David Nyika

Due to IBF-mandated German contender Huseyin Cinkara (22-0, 18 KO’s) dropping out of a bout with Jai Opetaia (27-0, 21 KO’s) due to injury, rising New Zealand contender David Nyika (10-1, 9 KO’s) stepped in on three weeks’ notice to replace Cinkara given his #10 spot on the IBF’s cruiserweight (200 lbs) rankings.

With both his IBF and The Ring cruiserweight titles on the line, Jai Opetaia coursed to another dominant victory over Nyika. The 1st round was relatively evenly-sided, with both fighters not afraid to engage in a close-quarter brawl which Opetaia won by handing out more and cleaner punches.

However, following the 1st round, Opetaia fully went on to dominate as he stepped up his attacks, pinpointedly breaking down the New Zealand fighter who displayed flashes of toughness danger but was overwhelmed by the pace and efficiency of Opetaia’s offensive arsenal.

The next 3 rounds were much more one-sided in favor of Opetaia, and the 4th round saw the Australian champion’s efforts get rewarde as he knocked Nyika down around the half portion of the round. With Nyika on weakened legs, it took several seconds for Opetaia to fully finish the match with a powerful left which dropped and knocked out Nyika.

The result was announced as a knockout (KO) in favor of Jai Opetaia who retained both his IBF and The Ring titles as a result. With another dominant victory completed, eyes are now on a unification fight with Mexican unified [WBA & WBO] cruiserweight champion Gilberto Ramirez (47-1, 30 KO’s) eyed as the Australian champion’s potential next opponent according to both Opetaia and co-promoter Eddie Hearn, Matchroom’s chairman.

Undercard results:

• Rising Australian heavyweight (200+ lbs) contender Justis Huni (12-0, 7 KO’s) maintained his unbeaten record with a 2nd round stoppage victory over South African fighter Shaun Potgieter (10-2, 7 KO’s).

• Australian super middleweight (168 lbs) prospect Max McIntyre (7-0,6 KO’s) also continues to be undefeated after a TKO victory over Turkish contender Abdulselam Saman (8-2, 1 KO’s.

• Australian super welterweight (154 lbs) contender Ben Mahoney (15-0-1, 8 KO’s) as he defeated Chinese opponent Fan Zhang (8-3-1, 5 KO’s) by unanimous decision (UD) to become the new IBF Pan Pacific 154 lbs champion after 10 full rounds.

• In the women’s super lightweight (140 lbs) division, Australian contender Taylah Gentzen (6-1, 3 KO’s) suffered a narrow split-decision (SD) loss to Irish contender Shauna Browne (5-0, 3 KO’s).