In the space of just a few weeks, two fighters from New Zealand will be challenging for world titles. This week, on Wednesday, unbeaten former amateur standout David Nyika will challenge IBF and Ring Magazine cruiserweight champ Jai Opetaia, while next month, on February 22, former WBO heavyweight champ Joseph Parker will attempt to take the IBF heavyweight title off Daniel Dubois.
Both men will enter the ring as the underdog, with the 10-(9) Nyika especially seeing hefty odds against him. Not only is this a big jump up in class for Nyika, but he is also taking the Opetaia fight at short notice, with him stepping in after original Opetaia challenger Huseyin Cinkara pulled out with an ankle injury. But some people feel Nyika can pull off the upset. And as far as the Dubois-Parker fight goes, some people say it would not really be an upset if Parker won.
Eddie Hearn, who works with Opetaia and has been saying for some time now that the Australian is the best 200-pounder in the world today, feels Nyika has a real shot against the 26-0(20) Opetaia, while Hearn is outright picking Parker, 35-3(23) to defeat Dubois, who is currently 22-2(21).
Hearn spoke with The New Zealand Herald about both upcoming fights.
“I’ve known David a long time. He’s a brilliant fighter but I was always thinking this fight would be in 12 months’ time. I couldn’t believe it when he took the fight,” Hearn said. “I love it. You should be taking the fight. It’s definitely too early for him. But just because it’s too early doesn’t mean he can’t win. Belief is a huge part of it but you’ve got to truly believe. Nyika is good. He’s well-schooled. He can punch. And he’s fast. But he’s got a mountain to climb. It’s going to be a brilliant fight.”
As Hearn also suggested, this fight HAS come too soon for Nyika, but we have seen less experienced fighters seemingly come out of nowhere to either upset the champion or give him nothing but hell in the fight (think Azumah Nelson and his almost upset over the great Salvador Sanchez for one example of a ‘where the hell did he come from?’ fight).
Those early rounds could prove to be a real test for Nyika, but if he can get through them and take Opetaia’s best punches, who knows? It should be a great fight as Hearn says.
As for Parker against Dubois, Hearn has said for some time that he feels Parker will take Dubois’ belt.
“I think Joe Parker wins. I really do,” Hearn said. “I’m a big Joe Parker fan. He’s a mate of mine. I’m kind of his unofficial promoter. Everyone is talking about Zurdo Ramirez and Oleksandr Usyk. For Dubois, everyone is talking about Usyk or the AJ rematch. Joe does all the things you need to be able to beat Dubois which is take him deep, work-rate, have a good chin, keep landing, keep chipping away. Dubois used to have a threshold where he was asked questions and it used to come after three or four rounds. Now, because of his confidence, that might come after seven, eight, nine rounds. You’ve got to take him there, and then you’ve got to make Dubois question his heart. Joe is the kind of fighter to do that, so I think he wins.”
Interesting. What price both Nyika and Parker return home to New Zealand as world champions?
Picks: I’m going Opetaia on points in a surprisingly tough fight that elevates both men. Parker, too, will win a decision, as he comes through some hot and heavy early rounds to finish strong enough in the middle and later rounds to get the nod.
