Jai Opetaia successfully defended his lightweight world title with a victory over David Nyika in Australia. The fight was filled with dramatic moments that reminded us what a ferocious, exciting — and sometimes flawed — talent Opetaia is. What came before is also interesting; our on-site man Declan Warrington brings you the full behind-the-scenes look at an unforgettable week.
GOLD COAST, AUSTRALIA — When the Jai Opetaia-Huseyin Cinkara production opened on January 8 at the Gold Coast Convention Center in Queensland, Australia, there were concerns that it wouldn’t attract the attention that attendees were hoping for. It’s summer in Australia, which means many nationals will prioritize traveling with their families during the school holidays, including trips to the Gold Coast and nearby places like Surfers Paradise and Brisbane. It’s also a time when overseas visitors fly to Australia in search of what for them represents winter sunshine, with January 8 just three days before the Gold Coast hosts the Magic Millions, one of the most important events on Australia’s racing calendar.
To promote the Magic Millions, a free, non-competitive “race” – with the royal family’s Zara Phillips as one of the jockeys – will be held on a beach in Surfers Paradise on Tuesday morning. There are only hours left before the weigh-in ceremony for Wednesday’s lightweight world title fight at the Gold Coast Convention Center.
Others gather for the auction with the best stallions and trainers from Sydney and Melbourne prepared to spend millions on what are considered the best horses in the world. Eventually, racing – after mining and hospitality – became Australia’s third largest industry.
That may have created a lot of interest in Wednesday’s IBF title fight between champion Opetaia and New Zealand’s David Nika – the less attractive replacement for Nika when he was sidelined by injury in December of Sinkara – a particularly valuable insight into Opetaia’s position in the motherland at the time he was the first
Been fighting here since July 2022. Victory that night meant Opetaia succeeded Myres Briedis as the world’s leading lightweight, and four more wins since then meant that His reputation continued to grow.
The political landscape of boxing and broadcasting in Australia means that Tim Tszyu’s fight, which is backed by Fox Sports Network, receives the most coverage. Opetaia’s broadcaster, streaming service DAZN, also faces the challenge of trying to counteract the slower WiFi service that exists in the corner. world.
However, Opetaia-Nyika undoubtedly benefited from the competition between Australia and New Zealand and Nyika’s English proficiency, with tickets sold out in advance, thus expanding the capacity of 4,800 spectators (3,800 general spectators and 1,000 corporate spectators) with an additional 250 tickets It will go on sale Monday and all 250 tickets are expected to be sold.
Eddie Hearn of Australia’s Gold Coast is full of optimism and enthusiasm. This is perhaps similar to what happened in the early years of the last decade when he first emerged in the UK as a replacement for long-time rival Frank Warren. He represented the epitome of boxing promotion and was so revered that Sky Sports – the only serious sports broadcaster in the UK at the time – believed they had been waiting for him.
Hearn, when all the energy and bravado—and development as a communicator—was Similar amounts of respect, hugs. It was at a time when his growing influence troubled His opponents and boxing observers alike credit his passion for boxing with Tests were conducted, and in some people were replaced by what can best be described as fatigue. Matchroom expansion in US and big plans he talks about His advocacy organization and broadcaster DAZN means this fatigue – For the sake of balance, it’s important to realize that, whatever one’s attitude towards him, in both quarters the desire to hear his ideas was never less – more directly.
No such fatigue existed for him in Queensland, Australia. His existence – comics and
The importance of Wednesday’s IBF lightweight title fight between Jai Opetaia and David Nyika was welcomed and heightened the sense of occasion that seems to extend beyond 2022 Leading Australian boxing figures surrounding Opetaia’s fight with Mairis Briedis in July, as well as several other fights involving Tim Ziyu.
Liam Paro-Brock Jarvis, October 2022, for Matchroom First game in Australia. They hold shares in Opetaia, Conor Wallace, Justis Huni and Teremoana Jnr, all of whom are co-promoted by Tasman Fighters, along with the likes of Paro, Skye Nicolson and George Kambosos Jnr. Likewise, Hearn also spoke about plans for up to five more dates in Australia in 2025.
Wednesday is another buying day in the Riyadh season. If the branding on marketing materials promoting Opetaia-Nyika is a consistent reminder of Saudi Arabia’s reach, Hearn and the people around town representing DAZN frequently provide other reminders.
“His Excellency Turki Arasheh” was mentioned more than once during Monday’s press conference. Hearn mentioned him again in a conversation with BoxingScene, and shortly after in a Q&A, he offered to take his call at 3am when he agreed to join the Zoom call, even describing him as “the funniest I’ve ever seen him” one of the people”.
This exciting fight between IBF lightweight champion Jai Opetaia and David Nyika represents the first big fight of 2025 and is sure to be remembered as the year One of the knockout rounds ended.
Two days ago, BoxingScene heard Eddie Hearn promise a “fight of the year” and wonder how many more times he’ll be leaning on that tired rope in 2025, but this At one time, its use was very old.
Both fighters’ fearless willingness to trade made an early end to the fight inevitable, but Nika’s subsequent takedown represented one of the most concerning incidents BoxingScene has ever seen. Until then – and concerns have grown the longer he recovers – their fight has become an advertisement for Australian boxing that co-promoters Matchroom and Tasman Fighters hope will come true.
Not only was the Gold Coast Convention Center sold out on Wednesday night, it was also packed with engaged spectators who created an atmosphere befitting Opetaia-Nyika and the upcoming celebration of Australian culture. Music that can be heard during matches and between rounds includes music by popular Australian DJ Fisher, resident resident of Hï, widely regarded as the best Ibiza nightclub in the world, and John Williams The iconic song True Blue, which is about what it means to be a true Australian, has a line about sticking by your “mate” in a fight.
Popular British heavyweight boxer Johnny Fisher sat at a corporate table near BoxingScene and showed part of why he’s so popular on the other side of the world. No doubt he was struggling with jet lag, but he was more than willing to talk to those at his table who he didn’t know, and it didn’t take long to hear him fielding questions about whether he needed a sponsor.
High-profile former rugby league players were also in attendance, but for the first time everyone in the arena showed real commitment when heavyweight Teremoana Jnr took to the ring.
Whether Teremoana Jnr, who is attracting attention at the 2024 Paris Olympics, will ultimately justify the hype surrounding him is unclear, but he is a natural performer
He loves performing in the ring, so he’s relaxed and composed – both qualities that serve him well. After victory was confirmed, Cook Island resident Teremoana Jnr performed a dance that might rival the haka of New Zealand’s famous rugby team.
Samoan dancers and singers then performed before the next bout, a light welterweight bout between Ben Mahoney and Fan Zhang, on the The end of the seventh round was threatened by a brief power outage caused by a lightning strike near the venue, and the Gold Coast had nothing but intense sunshine and heat for the next few days.
The Moloney twins, Jason and Andrew, were soon seated near Johnny Fisher and thus were forced to endure Neil’s pressure as well. Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline”, Australia’s national anthem in non-sporting contexts beyond what has long been thought to be a concomitant effect British sporting events.
Refreshingly, despite the sporting rivalry between Australia and New Zealand – Nika’s presence challenging poster boy Opetaia represented the villain of the piece – the New Zealand national anthem played before Nika took the field was treated with respect Didn’t get booed. As Nika walked to the ring, he was loudly booed, showing how possible it is to show support for a fighter without resorting to the disrespectful, vulgar act of booing the national anthem. The boxing crowd that exists in the UK is often described as the envy of the world – famous emcee Michael Buffer is among those who continually admire the noise they generate – but in 2025 the reality is They often embarrass those involved in the fights in question.
The Australian national anthem, sung in an Aboriginal language, complemented Opetaia’s circular walk and was as popular as Matchroom and Tasman warriors had hoped. All of which made it a shame that “G’day mate” was said in Arabic to the absent Turki Arasheh before the opening bell.
Unlike what had happened before, this was a selfish act of respect. The reality remains, however, that what happened between Opetaia and Nica is rightfully what “Return of the Champions” will be remembered for. Likewise, the brutal nature of the knockout rounds, among other things, was enough for the 5,000 spectators in attendance – many wearing T-shirts branded with sports star Oppetaya – to transport them into the summer night.
