IBF cruiserweight champion Jai Opetaia has a lot to prove in his next defense against David Nyika in 13 days time on January 8 at the Gold Coast Convention Centre, Broadbeach, Queensland, Australia.
Fans delighted with 29-year-old Opetai (26-0, 20 KOs) jumped ship after watching his shy performance in his rematch with Mairis Briedis on May 18 earlier this year.
Blueprint to win
Many fans realized they were wrong about Opetaia, believing him to be pure gold after watching him spin obscure second-rate fighters. When Opetaia came in with the real thing, he looked yellow in the second leg against Briedis. You could see the fear in his eyes as Briedis stalked him, and it was so disappointing.
Opetaia looked scared when Briedis started to kick hard. He reminded of Dmitri Bivol in the way he ran around the ring and was chased by the 39-year-old.
It wasn't a good picture. In order for fans to forget that image, Opetaia needs to fight, stay in the pocket and trade hard punches with the tough Nyika (10-0, 9 KOs) on January 8th.
Nyika has a real chance of winning this fight if he follows Briedis' plan and puts Opetai under heavy, relentless pressure. Opetaia does not like to be hit. He's not the same guy when opponents go up against him.
A legacy on the line
“For me it is another target. It's the same thing we all do. We get up and train. Yes, for sure. That's what I was after. I am chasing unification struggles,” said Jai Opetaia BoxNation when asked if he was interested in a unification fight against WBA cruiserweight champion Gilbert 'Zurdo' Ramirez.
“I have to take care of another commitment (David Nyika). This is a serious fight. David Nyika is from my side of the woods. He had a great amateur pedigree. I expect 12 tough rounds. It's exciting for the cruiserweight division. Yes, we want to do this work and we want to hunt those unification belts.
“I shared the ring with him (Nyiko) many times. We did a lot of sparring. He lives only an hour from me. We are locals in that area. We work together a lot. So this was always happening,” Opetaia said of battling a guy from nearby territory to attract the interest of the Australians and New Zealanders.
The fight isn't going too well with fans outside of Australia and New Zealand, who want to see Opetaia face WBA champion Gilbert 'Zurdo' Ramirez, Chris Billam-Smith, Leonard Mosque and Cheavon Clarke.
Shadow of Briedis
There isn't much interest in Opetaia going up against guys like Nyika, Jack Massey, Ellis Zorro and Jordan Thompson. I can't say this enough: Opetaia did NOT look good in his rematch against 39-year-old Mairis Briedis on May 18th earlier this year. He fought timidly against Briedis, running around the ring after he started getting facial injuries.
When fans saw Opetaia's performance, they labeled it a hype job, and he's done nothing to prove them wrong since. Opetaia doesn't like to be hit and will do anything to avoid punishment when faced with someone who wants to challenge him, as Briedis did.
