Cruiserweight champion Jay Obitaya and challenger David Nica weighed in at 199.5 pounds on Monday for their fight on Wednesday, January 8, at the Gold Coast Convention Centre, Broadbeach, in Australia.
Nyika looked well defined, showing very little fat on his 6'6″ frame. During the confrontation, the two fighters came face to face. It had the feel of professional wrestling, and I was waiting for some theatrics at the door. That was the only thing missing.
Obitaya (26-0, 20 KOs) is the favorite, but Nika (10-0, 9 KOs) has a real chance to win. He caught Jay at a good point in his career after two hard-fought fights against former IBF champion Mairis Briedis. It has been watered down. The event will be shown live on DAZN.
Herne Hypes Opitaya
“David Nica is here to fight. He's one of the best amateurs this part of the world has seen for a long time. He took the fight in three weeks. He sees something. He believes in it, but tomorrow night, he's going to face an animal in Jay Opetaia. Eddie Hearn said: 'This is going to be “A wonderful battle.” DAZN boxing Jay Obitaya vs. David Nica weighs in today.
“You're selling what he is. He's an animal. He's not going to come out and sing you a song and give you a happy face. He just wants to fight,” Hearn said. Sports news australiatalks about Opetaia. “That's Jay. He's a badass. What you see is what you get, that's why people love watching him fight.”
“He's a real champion. When you say Usyk. I don't see any heavyweight that can beat Usyk. Maybe Jey can't beat Usyk, but it's a tough fight. When you look at Usyk becoming an undisputed cruiserweight and then moving up to heavyweight “That's the same goal as Jay Opepitaya,” said Hearn.
The fight between Opetaia and Usyk is still a long way off as Jay still needs to collect the other three belts before he achieves his goal of becoming the undisputed cruiserweight champion. This will take some time. It might be best for Obitaya to put his goal aside and move up to heavyweight alongside challenging Usyk for all three of his belts. He could always return to the department to continue collecting them all.
“If we can get that at cruiserweight, I think it will make a huge Usyk fight. “You imagine the undisputed cruiserweight champion of the world fighting the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world,” Hearn said. This is a huge battle. He has to go through David Nica. “It won't be easy.”
Nyika has a real chance to win this fight if he can hang on and get into the second half of the contest to start breaking Jai with pressure. Obitaya's face collapses when he is hit hard, and his eye bulges tend to swell when hit. If Nika can land enough shots on the edges of his eye, he can cut him down and possibly score a shutout.
“I know he's a big candidate to do it, but if he does, you have to focus on the other champions. I think the Zordo fight is a great fight. Step away from Wednesday, and the goal should be to unify the division,” Hearn said.
