Not seen the fight yet, nor do I know what actually happened to his jaw. But I'm stoked to see a new player. And to think, I didn't even know Briedis was fighting until this morning.
I don't rate islanders. He'll be bamboozled by some unknown slickster soon....plodding around like Jimmy Thunder vs Chris Byrd.
I'm hopeful that due to his extensive amateur career he has a few tricks up his sleeve aside from his crushing power and aggressive will to win.
I've recently started watching more of him and really liking what I'm seeing from him. A relentless and entertaining fighter to watch. I can see him being the next undisputed CW fighter, and perhaps we'll eventually see him at HW.
He has good speed and power, but he's very hippity hop. Jumping all over the place with bad fundamentals. He'll make for some fun fights, but I dont see him ever having succes at hw
I like Opetaia, he's aggressive, fast with knckout power and will happily trade in the pocket. Beating Breidis with a broken jaw was a great effort. Not big enough for heavy though , think he's only about 6 foot 2.
Opetaia vs Breidis 2 on the Fury/Usyk undercard; Jai Opetaia-Mairis Briedis Cruiserweight Championship Rematch In Play For Feb. 17 In Riyadh
Fun fighter to watch and showed great heart ves Breidis. However, he's flawed as hell though he could improve as he's still young, and as Irish said, there's no one at cruiserweight right now (I think a JC Gomez would have tamed him quite easily).
He's flawed because he loves to punch on in close. The kid has skills, but needs to tame the desire for a brawl in the pocket.
Nyika looks like another "athlete" who should stay away from boxing. Go get a YouTube channel and influence kids.
I think he's one of those guys who will succeed to a very good level (I mean he's already a world champion) purely on his obvious athletic talent. I do think he's an embarrassing whitewash loss in the making if he faces someone who knows what he's doing from a boxing standpoint.
