David Kieran Nyika (born 7 August 1995) is a New Zealand

professional boxer Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional bouts are supervised by a regulatory autho ...

. As an amateur, he won a gold medal at both the

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

and 2018 Commonwealth Games as well as competing at the

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and 2019 World Championships. Nyika and

Sarah Hirini Sarah Hirini (; born 9 December 1992) is a New Zealand women's rugby union player and two-time Olympic medalist. She plays for the New Zealand women's national rugby sevens team, and captained the Manawatu Sevens side that took out the 2013 Nati ...

were the New Zealand flag bearers at the

2020 Summer Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the 1 ...

. Nyika gained significant media attention after an incident during the Round of 16 at the 2020 Summer Olympics in which Moroccan boxer

Youness Baalla Youness Baalla (born 25 April 1999) is a Moroccan boxer. He competed in the men's heavyweight event at the 2020 Summer Olympics. Career Baalla won the silver medal at the 2019 All-African Games in Rabat in the heavyweight category. He qualifi ...

attempted to bite Nyika's ear.

Amateur career

2020 Summer Olympics

On July 27, 2021, Nyika won a Round of 16 match against Moroccan

in the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics. In what was described by commentators as a "disgraceful act", during the third round, Baalla attempted to bite Nyika. The biting incident overshadowed the competition as New Zealand media reported that it "marred" Nyika's Olympic debut. The incident drew comparisons to Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield's 1997 fight in which Tyson repeatedly bit Holyfield's ear. On August 3, 2021, David Nyika won a bronze medal after being defeated in the men's heavyweight semifinal against Russian Olympic Committee's Muslim Gadzhimagomedov.

Commonwealth Game results

Glasgow 2014 *Round of 32: Defeated Luvuyo Sizani (South Africa) 2–0 *Round of 16: Defeated

Scott Forrest Scott William Forrest (born 6 August 1984) is a Scottish retired rugby union player who competed in rugby sevens at 2010 Commonwealth Games, serving as captain of the national team at the event. He is the head coach of the Scotland Women 7 ...

(Scotland) 3–0 *Quarter-finals: Defeated

Sumit Sangwan Sumit Sangwan (born 1 January 1993) is an Indian amateur boxer. At the 2012 London Olympics, he participated in the light heavyweight category. Under controversial circumstances, he lost his bout to Yamaguchi Falcão Florentino. He is suppor ...

(India) 3–0 *Semi-finals: Defeated Sean McGlinchy (Northern Ireland) 3–0 *Final: Defeated

Kennedy St-Pierre Joseph Kennedy St-Pierre (born 23 October 1992) is a Mauritian boxer who represented Mauritius at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, where he competed in the men's heavyweight competition. He is a two time African Games gold medalist ...

(Mauritius) 3–0 Gold Coast 2018 *Round of 16: Defeated Yakita Aska (Antigua and Barbuda) 5–0 *Quarter-finals: Defeated Christian Ndzie Tsoye (Cameroon) W/O *Semi-finals: Defeated Cheavon Clarke (England) 5–0 *Final: Defeated

Jason Whateley Jason Eric Whateley (born 18 November 1990) is an Australian professional boxer. As an amateur, he competed in the men's heavyweight event at the 2016 Summer Olympics. Whateley said that he is a supporter of the Australian football team Hawth ...

(Australia) 5–0

World Championship results

Hamburg 2017 *Round of 16: Defeated Igor Teziev (Germany) 5–0 *Quarter-finals: Defeated by Evgeny Tishchenko (Russia) 4–1 Yekaterinburg 2019 *Round of 32: Defeated Ahmed Hagag (Austria) 5–0 *Round of 16: Defeated by Muslim Gadzhimagomedov (Russia) 5–0

Olympic Games results

Tokyo 2020 *Round of 16: Defeated

(Morocco) 5-0 *Quarter-finals: Defeated Uladzislau Smiahlikau (Belarus) 5-0 *Semi-finals: Defeated by Muslim Gadzhimagomedov (Russia) 4–1

Professional career

Early career

On 26 January 2021, it was announced that Nyika would make his professional debut against Jesse Maio on the undercard of Joseph Parker vs. Junior Fa at

Spark Arena Spark Arena (also known as Auckland City Arena, and formerly as Vector Arena) is a multipurpose arena in Auckland, New Zealand. The venue is located at Quay Park, Parnell, very close to Britomart Transport Centre and The Strand Station. The ar ...

on 27 February 2021. The bout would end in strange fashion as following a big right hand landed by Nyika that floored Maio, Maio would protest that the punch landed behind the head. Despite protestations from Maio that he had been hit behind the head, Nyika was awarded the win just 29 seconds into the opening round. Following his bronze medal winning performance at the

Nyika would relocate to Morecambe, England in preparation for his second pro bout and would begin training under former WBO middleweight champion Andy Lee and would train alongside reigning WBC heavyweight champion

Tyson Fury Tyson Luke Fury (born 12 August 1988) is an English professional boxer. He is a two-time world heavyweight champion, having held the WBC title since defeating Deontay Wilder in 2020, and '' The Ring'' magazine title from 2020 to August 202 ...

and former WBO heavyweight champion Joseph Parker. He would make his UK debut against Frenchman Anthony Carpin on the undercard of the rematch between Joseph Parker vs. Dereck Chisora at AO Arena in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

on 18 December 2021. Nyika would progress to 2–0 dominating Carpin throughout the initial three minutes and when the bell rang to end the opening round, Carpin would

retire Retirement is the withdrawal from one's position or occupation or from one's active working life. A person may also semi-retire by reducing work hours or workload. Many people choose to retire when they are elderly or incapable of doing their j ...

on his stool complaining about an left elbow injury. Nyika's next outing would be involved in a crowd-pleasing five-round scrap with Karim Maatalla on the undercard of George Kambosos Jr vs Devin Haney on 5 June, 2022. Nyika showcased some of the skills that helped him win Olympic bronze and two Commonwealth Games golds as he out-fought the game Maatalla over five rounds to win 49-46, 49-46 and 48-47 on the judges scorecards. Speaking on his performance after the fight, Nyika said, "Realistically, I'd give it like a C-, It was exactly what I needed. I needed some tough opposition, someone who can actually take the shots as well as give them back."

Professional boxing record

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nyika, David 1995 births Living people Light-heavyweight boxers Commonwealth Games gold medallists for New Zealand Boxers at the 2014 Commonwealth Games Sportspeople from Hamilton, New Zealand New Zealand male boxers New Zealand people of Ugandan descent New Zealand people of Welsh descent New Zealand people of English descent Commonwealth Games medallists in boxing Boxers at the 2018 Commonwealth Games Boxers at the 2020 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2020 Summer Olympics Olympic medalists in boxing Olympic bronze medalists for New Zealand Olympic boxers of New Zealand