With his Olympic dream on the horizon next year Nyika gained approval from the New Zealand Olympic Committee and Boxing NZ to make his pro debut.
One silver lining in the postponed Joseph Parker Junior Fa heavyweight boxing showdown is it has allowed David Nyika, the dual Commonwealth Games gold medalist, to be confirmed for his professional debut on the undercard.
While the Parker-Fa headline act will consume attention, once the rescheduled late February/early March dateis confirmed following Fa's recovery from surgery, Nyika's first foray into the entertainment side of the sport adds another layer of intrigue to the all local card.
Nyika was understood to be touch and go for the original December 12 date due to lingering issues with his right hand. If push came to shove he would have fought, but not anywhere near full capacity, and he risked further deteriorating the injury.
With his Olympic dream on the horizon next year Nyika gained approval from the New Zealand Olympic Committee and Boxing NZ to make his pro debut. Rather than potentially jeopardise his Olympic quest, the postponement now gives him time to be in the best possible shape.
"When I was a kid one of my tendons pulled a bit of bone off so I had a little bit floating around for a while," Nyika revealed. "Being a tough little critter I decided it was fine. I've broken both my hands a number of times and every time it's been on the top of someone's head. I'll have to be really careful with these smaller professional style gloves.
Boxer Joseph Parker with his sparring partner David Nyika during training in Pakuranga. 05 November 2020 New Zealand Herald photograph by Dean Purcell.
"It's not new to me it's just a matter of managing my health and wellness. I was still going to fight if I had to but we have to look at the big picture and at the end of the day the Olympics is still my No 1 dream and priority so it's important to put my health first."
Dipping his fists in the professional ranks doubles as an eye-opening experience, and the start of the next stage Nyika's in his career. When the 25-year-old makes the permanent switch from the amateur ranks, which is expected to come following the Tokyo Games, he will be in hot demand with promoters desperate to secure his highly-marketable pedigree.
"I feel like my career has always been leading towards a professional debut and hopefully a successful career as a professional. I'm excited to see where this goes.
"This is a very emotionally driven sport and if your thoughts and emotions are elsewhere you're going to find yourself in a lot of trouble. This is going to take a lot of my emotional energy and that's probably just what I need because there has been a lot of uncertainty around the Olympics. I'm pretty sure it's all going to go ahead and it'll be everything I hoped and dreamed for.
"More doors will open after the Olympics and I'll have to reevaluate where I am in my career and go from there."
Given his reputation and amateur success, finding a willing opponent is proving difficult. Duco Events promoter David Higgins has made several offers with all, to this point, being rejected.
"To my knowledge we've gone through six or seven opponents and all have them have declined a generous amount of money that Duco has offered them. I'm still positive we'll find someone."
Nyika received an insight into the hype that surrounds professional boxing at a press conference on Monday when Fa's trainer, City Kickboxing coach Eugene Bareman, accusing Parker of not taking the fight seriously.
Junior Fa's coach Eugene Bareman at a press conference to announce the postponement of the Parker v Fa heavyweight boxing match. Photo / Photosport.co.nz
In that same rant Bareman called out Nyika for "going to the dark side" after previously training at City Kickboxing with Fa.
No such hysterics accompany the amateur scene and that foreign experience, therefore, left Nyika with the shakes. Coming to grips with these elements, including the ring walk and added pressure of needing to sell a pay-per-view event, is all part of his eventual transition.
"It's just what I need. It's a baptism of fire really. A lot of guys making their pro debut will get in with someone who shouldn't really be in the ring with them. I'm looking for a respectable opponent and I want to soak up the moment and do my thing."
As for the main event, Nyika has a unique insight in that he has sparred Fa and Parker but it seems he favours the former WBO champion's aggressive style.
"We've done plenty of rounds," Nyika said of his recent work with Parker. "It's been a great experience for me – he's surprisingly quick for such a big dude I'll tell you that much. It was very competitive so I'm hoping to jump back in camp come early January.
"Joe is probably the stronger of the two. Junior is going to have to box outstandingly to keep him off for 12 rounds. From the past and what we've seen from Joseph he hits hard and Junior is going to have a tough job keeping him at bay for 36 minutes of fighting."
