Nyika taking on deadliest opponent yet on Fury-Usyk undercard

David Nyika is just over a month out from the biggest fight of his career to date, but he's adding another challenge to this fight.

With his place on the undercard of the Tyson Fury-Oleksandr Usyk confirmed after the fight’s previous delay, Nyika has now added a fundraising cause to his bout in the hopes of helping combat the Malaria pandemic in Africa.

“This has been a massive opportunity for me to actually give back so I think it's all worked out for the best,” Nyika told 1News.

“Obviously being delayed a full three months throws a sort of spanner in the works but I feel great, I feel fine, I just want to get back under the lights.

“As a fighter, you start to forget what that rush feels like and the only way you can get it back is by getting under the lights and what an incredible show to be a part of.”

Nyika is pledging $10 for every punch he lands in Saudi Arabia, setting an ambitious target with High Impact Athletes of $100,000 raised with the help of supporters.

“By myself pledging $10 for every punch that I land in this fight, others will see it and want to jump on board.

“That's the idea anyway and if we can get some traction with this campaign, get people interested, get people invested in my story and the story that is we're saving lives, then I feel like we can together as a community, we can make a big difference.

"But I don't want anyone to be out of pocket so we're only encouraging people to give what they can - so if that's a few cents per punch, that's plenty."

The cause is tied closely to Nyika’s own story with his father’s side of the family hailing from Uganda – where almost 13 million cases of malaria were recorded in 2022 alone.

"My granddad, I think he moved to Dunedin when he was 18 or 20 and he's only returned once or twice and he's just turned 85-years-old. It is such a lost culture to me and my family."

But Nyika hopes that with his upcoming fight, and the newfound inspiration attached to it, it will help him take his first steps towards reconnecting to his roots.

“When I reconnect with my cousins on my dad's side of the family, there's something there and we don't quite understand it until we catch up… we get the feeling of belonging and everyone wants that.

“I want to explore that and I want to understand better who I am.”

That understanding is starting to show up already though – at least in the ring, it is.

The two-time Commonwealth Games champion and Olympic bronze medallist is 8-0 in his professional career, with seven of those wins coming via knockout.

“I've come such a long way since I've been here in Australia and training here under [coach] Noel Thornberry, I've learned so much about that kind of transition from the amateur game to the professional programme.

"I'm reverting back to how my body works best. I've got the Ugandan genes, I'm a distance runner, I'm not a sprinter and my output is going to be a lot higher than it has been in the past."

Just how effective that increased output will be remains to be seen though with his next opponent confirmed as undefeated German and IBO European champion, Michael Seitz.

Seitz enters the fight as 12-0 with 10 knockouts, although his most recent result in October last year was by majority decision.

“I really expect this guy to come and take my head off,” Nyika added.

“I think it's going to make for a great fight, we both have high knockout percentages, neither of us know how to lose.”

But the 28-year-old believes he has Seitz beaten in one crucial area and will use it to surge up the cruiserweight ranks with millions tuning in.

“He doesn't have an amateur pedigree, I don't think he spent much if any time in the amateur game so I think that's going to be where my advantage lies, just being a little bit more mature in the boxing world.

"I've been a student for the last 14 years, for half my life now, so this is going to be an opportunity to show that I'm leagues ahead of the likes of Michael Seitz."

A message to send in the ring and another to fight for out of it.

Those interested in supporting David Nyika's cause can do so here.