Speaking to the NZ Herald last month<\/a>, Nyika said he had \u201cnothing but admiration\u201d for Masson.<\/p>\n\u201cThat\u2019s what\u2019s going to drive me through this camp \u2013 wondering what Floyd\u2019s doing. He\u2019s a diesel engine,” Nyika said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s one of the good guys of the sport. Everything he\u2019s achieved in boxing he\u2019s done through hard work and discipline.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"David]()
David Nyika walks out for his fight against Nik Charalampous at the SBW versus Gallen boxing match in Sydney in 2025. Photo \/ Alyse Wright<\/p>\n
The venue for the fight is yet to be confirmed.<\/p>\n
Both boxers were hoping for a fight in New Zealand, though Masson\u2019s team initially made a case for a bout in Australia.<\/p>\n
Masson, like Nyika, had been eyeing a fight on their old stomping ground, though.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s a fight to happen in New Zealand, I reckon, especially back in the Waikato,\u201d Masson said last year.<\/p>\n
When speaking to the NZ Herald last month, Nyika agreed.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think we should do it in Hamilton. Floyd is from Te Awamutu, I\u2019m from Hamilton. The Claudelands Events Centre is 400m down the road from the house I grew up in. I know both of our [groups of supporting] people will come out in numbers.\u201d<\/p>\n
Claudelands Event Centre has hosted several boxing events in the past, most notably David Tua\u2019s retirement fight against Alexander Ustinov in 2013, as well as two of Joseph Parker\u2019s fights and one of Lani Daniels\u2019 world title fights.<\/p>\n
![\"Floyd]()
Floyd Masson<\/p>\n
Now that it\u2019s confirmed the fight will be held in Auckland, Masson said: \u201cMan, I would have loved the fight to be in the Waikato as we are both from there, but I know a lot of our supporters will be travelling to Auckland to come support us both.<\/p>\n
\u201c[It has taken] a lot of hard work, dedication and perseverance, and I think our styles will make a great fight.\u201d<\/p>\n
New Zealand boxing commentator Isaac Savage said the bout was going to be an important one for Masson and Nyika.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith both boys being hailing from … [Waikato] bragging rights on … who really is the best [of] the best in ANZ at this weight [are on the line].<\/p>\n
\u201cUntil Nykia faced … Jai Opetaia [last year] he was undefeated and Floyd\u2019s record [was] … only tarnished by the experienced and world-class Mateusz Masternak [in 2024].<\/p>\n
\u201cNykia is slick, fast and and jabs with precision, while Masson loves being in the pocket with a gutsy southpaw style. [The fight is] def one for the purists and all Anzac fight fans!\u201d<\/p>\n
Up-and-coming boxer Connor Campbell, who like Nyika is hoping to compete at the Commonwealth Games, said the bout was also important for young, local fighters.<\/p>\n
\u201cDavid, representing Hamilton and Floyd, representing Te Awamutu, creates a battle of the Mooloo region,\u201d Campbell said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is … local rivalry that is showcased on the world stage.<\/p>\n
\u201c[It] also highlights the natural talent of Waikato to produce world-class athletes.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt showcases to us emerging young boxers and the public that hard work and determination can pay off.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2013 Additional reporting by Liam Napier<\/p>\n
Benjamin Watt is a retired boxing judge and New Zealand boxing writer with a decade of experience. Watt has also been BoxRec\u2019s New Zealand record-keeper since 2014.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Riley has earned his world title shot after a win over Mateusz Masternak, of Poland, last month. For…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":673473,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[571],"tags":[1914,10960,64,63,13815,15127,32609,802,4991,23812,13478,15457,1913,35546,27854,16371,23989,324899,27855,324900,27857,5592,50995,13970,17958,2975,36682,85,17953,3209,19004,1547],"class_list":["post-673472","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-boxing","tag-against","tag-as","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-battle","tag-between","tag-both","tag-boxing","tag-country","tag-date","tag-david","tag-each","tag-fight","tag-fighters","tag-floyd","tag-into","tag-later","tag-longawaited","tag-masson","tag-mooloo","tag-nyika","tag-other","tag-prepare","tag-region","tag-revealed","tag-ring","tag-shape","tag-sports","tag-step","tag-taking","tag-this","tag-year"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/673472","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=673472"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/673472\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/673473"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=673472"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=673472"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=673472"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}