Kiwi cruiserweight David Nyika has blasted out his German rival Michael Seitz in four rounds on the undercard of the Tyson Fury v Oleksander Usyk blockbuster in Saudi Arabia this morning.
Nyika is now undefeated over nine professional fights with eight knockouts after stopping the previously undefeated Seitz with 15 seconds remaining in the fourth round. The fight was scheduled for 10.
Now based in Queensland with trainer Noel Thornberry, Nyika showed impressive power and composure on the big stage in Riyadh.
He was clearly also far better prepared than his opponent, who tired noticeably after the first round and virtually surrendered with exhaustion after Nyika caught him with a right hand to the head and a left hook to the body.
Nyika was guilty of keeping his hands low at times and was caught with various hooks by Seitz, but the German couldn’t withstand the constant punishment to the body and was running on empty by the end, referee Howard Foster stopping the contest.
Nyika had a height and reach advantage over Seitz and always appeared comfortable. He also showed an impressive chin after being caught several times, something he will want to avoid as he rises up the rankings.
Nicknamed “the Nice Guy”, Nyika, a bronze medallist at the Tokyo Olympics, is raising money to fight Malaria in Africa and pledged to donate cash for every punch landed in the fight.
He is now the IBF international cruiserweight champion and will be seeking more fights to build his way to world championship contention. Highly skilful Australian world champion Jai Opetaia is also fighting in Riyadh and is a potential future opponent.
New Zealand heavyweight and former world champion Joseph Parker, on the television broadcast team in Riyadh, said of the 28-year-old Nyika’s performance: “I feel like this was the perfect time for Nyika to establish himself on the world stage. It took him a while to work into it but he showed a variety of punches. He still has a lot to work on but it’s a great start.”
Asked what the 1.98m Nyika could work on, Parker replied: “Fighting from distance. He’s a tall man and he could have fought from range. He fought in close and probably wanted to show he could take punches and fight in close.
“I think he can make a great mark [in the division]. He’s a very talented fighter with a lot of experience. Him and Jai have done a lot of sparring in Australia. You never know, you might see that fight some time.”
Nyika, who sparred with several Australian heavyweights in preparation for the fight, told 1News recently he is keen to push on and build his reputation in New Zealand before challenging for the world title - a similar path taken by Parker, who won the world heavyweight title in 2016.
SHARE ME