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 fights are supervised by a regulatory auth ...

. As an

amateur An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, autodidacticism, self-taught, user-generated, do it yourself, DI ...

, he won a gold medal at both the

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

and

2018 Commonwealth Games The 2018 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXI Commonwealth Games and also known as Gold Coast 2018, were an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth that was held on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia, bet ...

as well as competing at the

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

and 2019 World Championships. Nyika and

Sarah Hirini Sarah Hirini (; born 9 December 1992) is a New Zealand women's rugby union player. She has played fifteen-a-side and seven-a-side rugby union, as a member of the New Zealand women's national rugby sevens team and New Zealand women's national ru ...

were the New Zealand flag bearers at the

2020 Summer Olympics The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...

. Nyika gained significant media attention after an incident during the Round of 16 at the 2020 Summer Olympics in which Moroccan boxer Youness Baalla attempted to bite Nyika's ear.

Amateur career

2020 Summer Olympics

On July 27, 2021, Nyika won a Round of 16 match against Moroccan Youness Baalla 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 Muslim Gamzatovich Gadzhimagomedov (; born 14 January 1997) is a Russian professional boxer who has held the World Boxing Association (WBA) bridgerweight title since 2024. As an amateur boxing, amateur, he won a gold medal at the 2019 AIBA World ...

Commonwealth Game results

Glasgow 2014 *Round of 32: Defeated Luvuyo Sizani (South Africa) 2–0 *Round of 16: Defeated Scott Forrest (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 (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 Cheavon Clarke (born 14 December 1990) is a Jamaican-British professional boxer. At regional level, he held the British cruiserweight title from 2024 to April 2025. As an amateur, he won a silver medal at the 2017 European Championships; and ...

(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 Hawtho ...

(Australia) 5–0

World Championship results

Hamburg 2017 *Round of 16: Defeated Igor Teziev (Germany) 5–0 *Quarter-finals: Defeated by

Evgeny Tishchenko Evgeny Andreyevich Tishchenko (; born 15 July 1991) is a Russian professional boxer. He was the inaugural World Boxing Association (WBA) bridgerweight champion but was subsequently stripped after testing positive for banned substance. As an ama ...

(Russia) 4–1 Yekaterinburg 2019 *Round of 32: Defeated Ahmed Hagag (Austria) 5–0 *Round of 16: Defeated by

(Russia) 5–0

Olympic Games results

Tokyo 2020 *Round of 16: Defeated Youness Baalla (Morocco) 5-0 *Quarter-finals: Defeated Uladzislau Smiahlikau (Belarus) 5-0 *Semi-finals: Defeated by

(Russia) 4–1

Professional 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 ...

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 Morecambe ( ) is a seaside town and civil parish in the City of Lancaster district of Lancashire, England, on Morecambe Bay, part of the Irish Sea. In 2011 the parish had a population of 34,768. Name The first use of the name was by John Whit ...

, England in preparation for his second pro bout and would begin training under former

WBO The World Boxing Organization (WBO) is an organization which sanctions professional boxing bouts. It is recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) as one of the four major world championship groups, alongside the World Boxin ...

middleweight Middleweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the middleweight division is contested above and up to . Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have beg ...

champion

Andy Lee Andy Lee may refer to: __NOTOC__ Sportspeople * Andy Lee (American football) (born 1982), American football punter * Andy Lee (boxer) (born 1984), Irish boxer * Andy Lee (footballer, born 1982), English footballer for Bradford City * Andy Lee (footb ...

and would train alongside reigning WBC

heavyweight Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling. Boxing Professional Male boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 2 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation an ...

champion

Tyson Fury Tyson Luke Fury (born 12 August 1988) is a British former professional boxer who competed from 2008 to 2024. He held multiple world heavyweight championships, including unified titles from 2015 to 2016, the '' Ring'' magazine title twice bet ...

and former WBO heavyweight champion

Joseph Parker Joseph Dennis Parker, (born 9 January 1992) is a New Zealand professional boxer. He has held the World Boxing Organization (WBO) Interim championship, interim heavyweight title since 2024. Previously, he held the WBO heavyweight title from 2016 ...

. He would make his UK debut against Frenchman Anthony Carpin on the undercard of the rematch between Joseph Parker vs.

Dereck Chisora Derek Chisora (born 29 December 1983) is a Zimbabwean-British professional boxer. He has challenged twice for the WBC heavyweight title in 2012 and 2022. At regional level, he has held multiple heavyweight championships, including the Britis ...

AO Arena Manchester Arena (currently known as AO Arena for sponsorship reasons) is an indoor arena in Manchester, England, immediately north of the city centre and partly above Manchester Victoria station in air rights space. Prior to the opening of ...

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

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 a 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." Nyika challenged IBF and ''The Ring'' cruiserweight champion

Jai Opetaia Jai Opetaia (born 30 June 1995) is an Australian professional boxer. He held the International Boxing Federation (IBF) title from 2022 until 2023, before vacating the title due to a disagreement with the IBF. He would however win the vacant titl ...

at the Convention and Exhibition Centre on the Gold Coast in Australia on 8 January 2025, but lost the fight by knockout in the fourth round.

Professional boxing record

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nyika, David 1995 births Living people Light-heavyweight boxers Commonwealth Games gold medallists for New Zealand Commonwealth Games boxers 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 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 for New Zealand Medallists at the 2014 Commonwealth Games Medallists at the 2018 Commonwealth Games 21st-century New Zealand sportsmen Commonwealth Games gold medallists in boxing