Jai Opetaia looked and sounded angry during his face-to-face with challenger David Nyika on Saturday to discuss their fight on January 8th. From the get-go, Opetaia looked like he was in a foul mood as if he’d gotten out of the wrong side of the bed in the morning.
His cranky mood worsened when Nyika didn’t cringe, show fear, and act in the servile way he seemed to expect from him.
Opetaia’s Anger Exposed
Opetaia wanted him to cower and act submissive, and he wouldn’t do it. Jai wanted to be in control and dominate Nyika during their meeting.
It was a signal of how insecure Opetaia is. He’s clearly used to intimidating his opponents, getting them to be submissive so he can dominate them by the time they get in the ring.
IBF cruiserweight champion Opetaia (26-0, 20 KOs) got worked up when told that Nyika (10-0, 9 KOs) wanted to have a “gunfight” with him on Wednesday night.
Opetaia, 29, said he wants 12 rounds of “war’ with the 6’6” Nyika, and he believes he’ll knock him out. The two fighters will meet at the Gold Coast Convention Centre, Broadbeach, Australia. The event will be broadcast live on DAZN.
“Sparring is sparring. I’m ready for a fight on April 10th. Don’t worry about the sparring. It’s a completely different ballgame,” said Jai Opetaia to DAZN Boxing to David Nyika.
“I feel like I’ve done everything I needed to do. I feel like I know Jai well enough. Heavy is the head that wears the crown. I’ve had my eyes on Jai for a long time,” said Nyika.
“I know I can knock him out. I know I can hurt him,” said Opetaia. “These little gloves are a dangerous game. You want to have a gunfight. Let’s have a gunfight. I know it’s not going to be a gunfight. He’s going to box. He doesn’t want to get hit. It’s going to be a chess match.
“So, let’s go there, let’s play it. 12 rounds of war. I’m ready for it. You’re saying you’re prepared for me. I’m prepared for anyone. I don’t have my goals set on anyone. I just train. I focus on myself; that’s it. There’s no one out there that I’m picturing that I want to beat him or beat him,” said Opetaia.
Will Opetaia Freeze Again?
Jai talks big, but he was not into any part of the war in his rematch against Mairis Briedis on May 18th. Opetaia had the look of someone with a bad case of combat stress. He came apart when put under a constant bombardment from the Latvian fighter and froze in the final six rounds.
Briedis dominated the second half of the fight, and did enough to deserve a draw. The judges gave it to Opetaia, but it should have been a draw. That’s why it’s strange that Opetaia is talking about wanting to have a “war” with Nyika; he’s not good under those conditions. Where Opetaia is good is when his opponents aren’t throwing, and he’s doing all the attacking. When it’s just him throwing, he’s fine.
“I’m beating myself every day. Hurting, sacrifice every day, I’m ready for it,” said Opetaia.
“That sounds like you haven’t done your homework,” said Nyika when asked what goes through his mind when he hears Opetaia talking about him, knowing he’s going to knock him out. “It doesn’t seem like perfect practice makes perfect.
“I’ve practiced, I’ve researched, and I’ve gathered my intel. This is not the kind of sport where you can go in with one game plan. I’ve got a game plan from A to Z,” said Nyika.
When Nyika was saying all these things, Opetaia looked in a fit of rage, highly upset because he had someone who wasn’t bowing to him and scraping the floor like a foot servant like the many second-tier fighters he’d built his record with.
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