David Nyika had everything to lose and nothing to gain.
It never prevented ‘Mr Nice Guy’ from fighting like a man with everything to prove.
The homecoming was completed when Nyika stopped late replacement Tommy Karpency in the third round. Two knockdowns forced the end at 1:37 of round three Saturday at Viaduct Events Centre in Auckland, New Zealand.
Nyika (10-0, 9 knockouts) fought in his birth country for the first time since his Feb. 2021 pro debut. It was originally due to come versus Blake Caparello (32-4-1, 15KOs). That fight was scrapped when Caparello tested positive for a banned substance.
Karpency (31-9-1, 17 KOs) stepped in on short notice to help save the show. Nyika was as appreciative of that as he was of the chance to fight on home soil.
“Hats off to you for coming out at short notice,” said Nyika. “This means a lot to me. This is a dream come true.”
Nyika was the sharper of the two throughout the fight. The 29-year-old cruiserweight prospect, who claimed bronze at the Tokyo Olympics three years ago, reddened the right side of Karpency’s ribcage with left hooks through two rounds.
Karpency, a 38-year-old southpaw from Adah, Pennsylvania, came to fight. However, he was outclassed and also fighting one division heavy. The career-long light heavyweight was just 191 ¾ pounds at Friday’s weigh-in and looked every bit the smaller man on Saturday.
Early in the third round, Nyika snaked in a left hook to the body that hit Karpency flush. The visitor went down, in obvious pain. Karpency beat the count, but the writing was on the wall.
A right hand to the temple dropped him again and his corner literally threw in the towel.
Karpency was game and likely made many fans not only with his performance, but also with his post-fight interview.
“I make no excuses. The short notice had nothing to do with it. He’s a tall rangy guy and he hit me with good body shots,” said Karpency.
He added: “He’s going to be a future world champion.”
In a fun heavyweight slugfest, Hemi ‘The Heat’ Ahio (23-1, 17 KOs) survived some rocky moments to outlast Faiga ‘Django’ Opelu (16-6-2, 12 KOs) via split decision over 10 heats.
Samoan-born Australian Opelu, 30, was very much in the fight through the first five rounds as he looked to repeat his October 2022 victory over Ahio that occurred on the undercard of the Devin Haney vs. George Kambosos Jr rematch in Melbourne, Australia.
But it was the 34-year-old Ahio from Auckland, New Zealand who finished the stronger of the two, displaying his classier boxing to edge the bout by scores of 99-91, 94-96 and 96-94.
The Duco Events card was broadcast on DAZN. The show also marked the promotional debut of current top-rated heavyweight Joseph Parker (35-3, 23 KOs).
Australian-based boxing journalist Anthony Cocks has been covering the sport for over 20 years for various print and online publications.
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