Just saw the fight, and props to both Opetaia for the stunning finish and Nykia for hanging in there and showing real heart and grit. Hope he recovers well and gets back to the drawing board. Early days for Nykia though, where do you think he goes from here?
No real harm done today Expectations were low and he did ok Provided that KO hasn't cracked his chin, he'll be ok
I see him as at least a Top 5 fighter in the division, Nyika is a great fighter but he was thrown into the fire too soon...
Lots of heart. He got cracked today though. He was out for a long time. I hope he gets the medical care and advice he needs. You cant teach heart and the guy has that in abundance.
I'm a bit worried about the mental and physical aspects of this loss. He showed great heart though, and good skills - Jai was just too much as expected - so if he isn't compromised, he has the potential to develop into a contender.
His team should be giving him a good, long break to recover. If his punch resistance is still there then he’ll rebuild. The guy put up a very brave display but getting into that sort of dogfight with Opetaia was only ever going to end one way. Nyika has plenty of time though and a heap of talent. He should avoid another fight with Opetaia at any price but the straps will be available to him once Jai has moved on and he has another 5-6 fights on his CV.
I can see Nyika being on Billam Smith's level at best in the future, he is not a bad fighter and has some potential. He is probably a weak contender ATM, but he could defo take a belt in the future but i can't see him as being undisputed champion.
That was a pretty bad KO, and hopefully he will make a full recovery, but that is not a given. He needs to take it real slow and not get hit in the head again for a long time. If he does make a full recovery though, he has enough to be at the level and beat most of the recent cruiserweight champs not named Opetaia or Ramirez. But he has the potential to win fights against the likes of the Riakporhes and Billam-Smiths in the division.
Credit to Nyika for coming to fight and giving it all he had but l didn't see him standing a chance and couldn't believe people predicted he would win. His future should still be bright but he needs to dodge the top guys for a while.
Dared to be great and i respect that very much but it was too soon for him and at a late notice. He is not the finished article as a boxer yet, he has some upside. Hope he recovers well and comes back
there’s no shame in losing to probably the best CW in the world right now especially on a few weeks notice. He can still probably make some waves in the domestic level.