David Nyika had everything to lose and nothing to gain.
That never stopped ‘Mr Nice Guy’ from fighting like a man with everything to prove.
The homecoming was completed when Nyika stopped late substitute Tommy Karpency in the third round. Two knockdowns forced the end at 1:37 of round three on Saturday at Viaduct Events Center in Auckland, New Zealand.
Nyika (10-0, 9 KOs) fought in his native country for the first time since his pro debut in February 2021. It was originally due to come against 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 appreciated it as much as he had the chance to fight on home soil.
“Hats off to you for coming out on short notice,” says Nyika. “It means a lot to me. It’s 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 beaten and also fought hard in one division. The career-long light heavyweight was just 191 ¾ pounds at Friday’s weigh-in and looked just like the smaller man on Saturday.
Early in the third round, Nyika threw a left hook to the body that hit Karpency coil. The visitor went down, in obvious pain. Karpency beat the score, 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 probably made a lot of 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, lanky guy and he hit me with good body shots,” Karpency said.
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 a split decision over 10 heats.
Samoan-born Australian Opelu, 30, was very much in contention through the first five rounds as he looked to repeat his October 2022 win over Ahio, which took place on the undercard of the Devin Haney vs. George Kambosos Jr rematch in Melbourne, Australia.
But it was 34-year-old Ahio from Auckland, New Zealand, who finished the stronger of the two, displaying his classic boxing to edge the bout with scores of 99-91, 94-96 and 96-94.
The Duco Events card aired on DAZN. The show also marked the promotional debut of current top-rated heavyweight Joseph Parker (35-3, 23 KOs).
Australian boxing journalist Anthony Cocks has covered the sport for over 20 years for various print and online publications.
