Former heavyweight boxing world champion Joseph Parker is assisting David Nyika's push for a world title of his own and the next stage of the cruiserweight's journey to the top starts with a fight in Auckland on September 14.
Parker, who won the WBO world title in 2016 after only 22 professional fights and is positioning himself for another crack after two recent victories in Saudi Arabia, will co-promote Nyika's "road to the title" alongside David Higgins from Duco Events.
Nyika, a bronze medallist at the Olympics and a double Commonwealth Games gold medallist, is unbeaten as a professional with a 9-0 record.
He made his professional debut on the undercard of fellow Kiwi Parker's victory over Junior Fa in Auckland in 2021, a mismatch which lasted only 30 seconds.
It was the last time Nyika, a 28-year-old based in Queensland with trainer Noel Thornberry, fought in New Zealand. Nyika's planned celebrations were cut short as the country went into another Covid lockdown on the same night.
Duco's David Higgins and heavyweight champion Joseph Parker have signed on to help launch David Nyika towards a world title fight. (Source: 1News)
His most recent fight was in Saudi Arabia on the undercard of Oleksandr Usyk's victory over Tyson Fury for the undisputed world heavyweight title last month. Nyika impressed with a fourth-round stoppage victory over German Michael Seitz.
September's fight, against an opponent yet to be confirmed, will be broadcast live on global pay per view channel DAZN.
"This is a huge opportunity," Nyika said. "All eyes will be on Auckland … this is an exciting event and we'll keep putting these shows on.
"My job is to train and to be a Spartan, a monster in the gym. I'm here for your entertainment but I'm also here to create my own narrative, my own story. To have the likes of Joseph co-promoting it, this feels like a big deal, man."
Parker, who shocked the boxing world by beating Deontay Wilder and then the highly-rated Zhilei Zhang in Ryiadh to revitalise his career, continues to train in Auckland as he awaits news of his next fight.
He was originally slated to fight a rematch against Zhang, and potentially in September, however given the latest events in a fast-changing division, including Zhang stopping Wilder recently and Daniel Dubois beating Filip Hrgovic, Parker's next move remains to be seen. He believes he is more likely to fight in October.
Parker, who turned professional in 2012, said helping to promote Nyika was a way of transitioning into a career after boxing.
"My journey started a long time ago when I signed a six-year contract with David Higgins," he said. "Along the way David has taught me a lot about the business side of boxing — sponsorship, ticketing, venues, and what's involved in promoting a fighter.
"Now I have the opportunity to dive into it a bit more … I'm very excited about the opportunity to promote David Nyika to the world. David has great work ethic, he has good height and good reach, abs that I always wanted. He looks good and speaks very well. He trains very, very hard," Parker said.
"With Noel Thornberry training him and David and I backing him, I think he's going all the way to the top."
The goal is to fight for the cruiserweight world title in New Zealand within the next two years or so.
The best of the current world cruiserweight champions is Australian Jai Opetaia. A future trans-Tasman clash would obviously appeal but there is a good chance Opetaia will move up to heavyweight, much as Ukrainian Usyk has with such success.
Thornberry told 1News that Nyika's demeanour ahead of his fight on the Usyk v Fury undercard was a promising sign.
"That was the biggest heavyweight fight this century," he said. "It's the first time the heavyweight championship has been unified in 25 years. The buzz around the whole event was enormous and David responded very well. It was no different for him than fighting in Australia or Gatton Shire Hall or here in New Zealand."
One of Nyika's best qualities, apart from his height (1.98m) and reach, was his ability to see punches coming, Thornberry said.
"A lot of the top fighters in the world would be lucky to hit him with a handful of sand if he didn't want them to."
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