Australian Jai Opetaia retained his IBF and The Ring cruiserweight world titles in stunning fashion, delivering a devastating fourth-round knockout to kiwi David Nyika on the Gold Coast.
After flooring Nyika with a brutal uppercut, Opetaia followed up with three thunderous punches as Nyika staggered on the ropes, sealing the emphatic victory.
The knockout left the crowd in suspense as Nyika remained down for several minutes before being helped backstage, suffering his first career defeat.
Despite being briefly hurt in the third round, Opetaia looked dominant and immediately called out WBO and WBA champion Gilberto Ramírez for a unification bout.
In the co-main event, Justis Huni secured his 12th consecutive win, knocking out Shaun Potgieter in the second round to retain his IBF Pan-Pacific and WBO Global heavyweight titles. On the undercard, Paris Olympian Teremoana Teremoana delivered a sensational first-minute knockout against Osasu Otobo, drawing praise from promoter Eddie Hearn, who hailed the 26-year-old as a future world champion.
Australian Ben Mahoney claimed the IBF Pan-Pacific super welterweight title by unanimous decision over Fan Zhang despite a brief lightning-induced power outage. In another standout performance, Brisbane’s Max McIntyre captured the IBF Youth super middleweight title with a knockout victory over Abdulselam Saman.
𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐑𝐔𝐈𝐒𝐄𝐑𝐖𝐄𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓 👑 𝐑𝐄𝐈𝐆𝐍𝐒 𝐒𝐔𝐏𝐑𝐄𝐌𝐄@jaiopetaia1 knocks David Nyika OUT COLD in the fourth 😳#OpetaiaNyika pic.twitter.com/EDRuaW7OUA
— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) January 8, 2025
