Nyika/Opetaia. Jan 8th

[jamieson2]

Opetaia is borderline P4P. It'll be a huge upset if Nyika can pull it off.

[diehard]

I don't know. Who has Opetaia beaten except for an aging Briedis twice? But yes, a huge upset for Nyika.

[jamieson2]

You are correct that Opetaia's record is a little thin against elite opposition, although those 2 wins over Briedis go a long way. Briedis was the reigning Ring & IBF champion when Opetaia fought him the first time & Breidis came the closest to defeating Usyk in my opinion. Briedis' record places him among the best of the cruiserweight divisions history.

[diehard]

True. But Briedis was getting old, especially in their last fight. I think he was thinking about retirement. Still, a great win for Opetaia. Briedis can fight. Interestingly, I think Usyk struggled more at cruiser than heavy. Cruisers are just better boxers, and take away some of Usyk's strengths. At heavy, they can't match his boxing skills, and he can take a punch.

[diehard]

Good comments on Eastside about this fight, even some of our posters weighing in:

https://www.boxingforum24.com/threads/ja...580/page-4

[diehard]

https://www.yardbarker.com/boxing/articl...2_41500142

[diehard]

https://www.sportskeeda.com/mma/news-jai...itle-fight

[diehard]

https://www.boxingnews24.com/2025/01/nyi...and-power/

[diehard]

https://www.boxing247.com/boxing-news/is...-so/285438

[diehard]

https://www.1news.co.nz/2025/01/06/kiwi-...tle-fight/