Kiwi cruiserweight boxer David Nyika is in “kill mode” days out from his IBF world title eliminator in Auckland and suddenly has an extra incentive to beat opponent Floyd Masson.
Should the 30-year-old beat Masson at the Eventfinda Stadium on Saturday night, there is every chance the prize, a world title fight against reigning champion Viddal Riley, of England, will be held in Auckland.
Promoter David Higgins, the man who helped orchestrate fellow Kiwi Joseph Parker’s run to the WBO world heavyweight title in Auckland in 2016, announced today that he will do all he can to give Nyika a similar opportunity.
“We’ve got form… it can be done and I think this fight may not be as difficult [to arrange],” Higgins told 1News. “The cruiserweight division is very different to the heavyweight division. I’m reasonably confident we can raise the sponsorship and support to bring the event to New Zealand.”
Higgins added: “We’ve sized up Viddal Riley. So has Masson’s team. We think he’s very beatable.
“It’s exciting. I don’t think any New Zealander has won one of the credible men’s cruiserweight world titles. That’s the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.”
Nyika said: “I know that the Auckland Council have expressed interest in bringing it here which is amazing. It’s a real possibility. I think either myself or Floyd could beat Viddal Riley.”
It will all come down to money, as is usually the case in professional boxing.
Higgins said he would begin negotiations on Monday – should Nyika get across the line for the 13th win in his 14th professional fight.
The only blip on Nyika’s record is a significant one: a knockout defeat to Australian Jai Opetaia for the same IBF world title in Queensland at the start of last year.
Nyika, who took the fight on extremely short notice – 18 days – was brutally stopped by Opetaia, the man considered the best fighter in the division who later had the belt stripped due to sanctioning body politics.
“I didn’t have a lot of time to prepare for Jai. I had 18 days’ notice," Nyika said. "I had no southpaw sparring… I didn’t have time to … find the solutions to problems. I made some calculated risks on the night and I was hoping to break him down in the middle rounds.”
Masson, a 34-year-old former IBO world cruiserweight title holder, is also a southpaw but not at the same level as Opetaia, or probably Nyika, who won an Olympic bronze medal in Tokyo in 2020.
In an entertaining to and fro at today’s press conference, Nyika, who will have a signficant height advantage, said: “He may work harder than me in the gym. He may. But if hard work led to success the donkey would own the farm. I believe that I’m a tier above Floyd and I’m going to prove that.”
Nyika added: “I’m in kill mode right now. This is what I’ve built myself to do over the last 16 years. I’m a trained killer as far as my art is concerned. This is another opportunity to showcase that and express myself to the best of my ability.
“Someone like Floyd, I don’t think he has an issue around his gas tank but there’s a fair bit of scar tissue around his eyes and his nose looks like it's had a bit of damage in the past so that’s something I’m conscious of as well.”
Masson, who has a 17-2 record as a professional, was born in Te Awamutu but now lives in Brisbane and considers himself very much an Australian.
He replied to Nyika's observation: “Oh man, I guess my face is just how it is. It’s ready – ready for war.”
Watch the Nyika v Masson fight on Saturday on TVNZ+ with a one-off Event Pass. The first fight of the night, featuring former All Black Liam Messam, will be available free-to-view on TVNZ 2 and TVNZ+.
SHARE ME