The cruiserweight king successfully defended his gold strap once again with another stunning knockout, but fans were left concerned after Opetaia's opponent was left in a brutal state

GOLD COAST, AUSTRALIA – The entertaining contest between IBF cruiserweight champion Jai Opetaia and David Nyika represented the first big fight of 2025, and also concluded with what is certain to be remembered as one of the knockouts of the year.

Jai Opetaia retained his IBF cruiserweight title Wednesday with a spectacular fourth-round KO of David Nyika in Gold Coast, Australia. Opetaia, ESPN's No. 1 cruiserweight, and Nyika engaged in an intense fight from the opening bell that featured nonstop exchanges of power punches.

The Australian boxer defended his IBF title in style and the Saudi empresario thinks that he can be the next megafight opponent for Oleksandr Usyk.

Jai Opetaia is the only man who can challenge heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk says promoter Eddie Hearn, after the IBF and Ring champion exacted the toll of trying to match it with boxing's best from David Nyika.

Here are your options to watch Jai Opetaia vs. David Nyika, including the live stream and start time for the fight on Wednesday in Australia.

Only last year, in fact, they would have seen Oleksandr Usyk, the former cruiserweight king, beat Tyson Fury, the consensus number one heavyweight, not once but twice to replicate his cruiserweight success in boxing’s marquee division.

Jai Opetaia stopped David Nyika with a vicious knockout on Wednesday, retaining the IBF cruiserweight title on home soil in Australia. Opetaia stopped the New Zealander in round four, landing a series of shots with Nyika stuck against the ropes and putting the challenger down and out with a brutal left hook.

Jai Opetaia is on a hot streak, and David Nyika is the latest challenger to fall to the Australian’s heavy hands. At a boxing event in Gold Coast, Australia, on Tuesday, Opetaia successfully defended his IBF cruiserweight title with a brutal fourth-round knockout of the previously undefeated David Nyika.

Jai Opetaia (27-0, 21 KOs) remains a cruiserweight world champion after blasting out David Nyika (10-1, 9 KOs) in four rounds. The time of stoppage was 2:17.