By: Sean Crose
The 10-0 David Niyka walked into the ring in Australia on Wednesday hoping to lift the IBF cruiserweight title from the highly lauded, 26-0 Jai Opetaia. It simply wasn’t meant to be. The taller Niyka started off aggressively in the first, flicking an impressive jab as well as overhand rights and lefts to the body. For his own part, the defending champion remained confident of his skills, measuring his opponent so that when he landed, he landed with effect. Indeed, Opetaia’s left thundered home in the final seconds of the round.
The second saw Niyka land a powerful flash uppercut. Opetaia, however, started to dominate the range. He also landed well while in close with the confident challenger. Sure enough, Opetaia nailed Niyka with a potent left. He found a home for that left more and more frequently as the round wore on. Opetaia indeed looked to have perhaps taken control of the fight. By the end of the third, Niyka was throwing less frequently than he had been. Still, it was a legitimate battle that was being waged in the ring. In fact, Niyka was able to tag Opeaia towards the bell.
Not that it ultimately mattered, for things came to a violent end in the fourth. The first thirty seconds of the round were target practice for the champion. It was clear he wanted to end the fight early. A frighteningly powerful uppercut sent the challenger down with a bit over a minute left in the chapter. Niyka bravely got to his feet, but he should have stayed down. Once the ref waved Opataia forward, the defending champion had murder in his eyes. He stepped to Niyka and subsequently performed a Jack Demspey to the challenger’s Jess Willard.
The referee wisely stopped the fight before Niyka hit the may, but the challenger laid flat on his back for several minutes surrounded by officials. Fortunately, Nikya was eventually able to get back to his feet and walk out of the ring. It had all been a frightening thing to watch. Then again, boxing is a frightening sport. “He took the fight on three weeks notice,” Opetaia said of his fallen opponent afterward. “He came here to fight…I take my hat off to David.” A class conclusion to a violent affair. Now the question is whether or not Opetaia is able to unify the entire cruiserweight division.
“Ramirez,” Opetai called kiddingly in a sing-song voice to fellow cruiserweight titlist Zurdo Ramirez, “we’re coming for the belts.”