{"id":493330,"date":"2026-06-24T14:27:12","date_gmt":"2026-06-24T14:27:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/493330\/"},"modified":"2026-06-24T14:27:12","modified_gmt":"2026-06-24T14:27:12","slug":"boxing-david-nyika-draws-inspiration-from-partners-cancer-battle-ahead-of-floyd-masson-bout","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/493330\/","title":{"rendered":"Boxing: David Nyika draws inspiration from partner\u2019s cancer battle ahead of Floyd Masson bout"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cI always get a little bit choked up when I talk about it because it is so personal and so close to home,\u201d Nyika said. \u201cBut she is my inspiration now. I\u2019ve been her rock, but she\u2019s been my inspiration.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve seen so much strength in her that I probably didn\u2019t appreciate before coming out the other side, we\u2019ve been formidable as a team, as an item. And I just feel a little bit more grown up now.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a very sobering experience, but I take a lot of strength from that chapter. Having a purpose in life is so important, and she became my purpose. Now that that chapter\u2019s behind us, I have another purpose. My purpose is to beat Floyd Masson.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nyika also described the experience as validating his ability to care for and support those closest to him.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been validated in my care and my passion. My compassion has been validated,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd I\u2019ve expected so much discipline from Lex through this, and I\u2019ve been there to do that with her and for her. Now I need to do it for myself.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just can\u2019t wait to show everybody what that looks like in the ring, what that will manifest into.\u201d<\/p>\n

The fight against Kiwi-Aussie Masson takes place at North Shore\u2019s Eventfinda Stadium, with a world title shot up for grabs in a wide-open division.<\/p>\n

For No 5-ranked Nyika, a victory over the No 6-ranked Masson would guarantee the No 1 IBF ranking and a second tilt at the world title<\/a> he boldly attempted to claim as a short-notice, stand-in opponent for undefeated knockout king Jai Opetaia in January last year.<\/p>\n

Nyika admits he didn\u2019t give himself enough time to prepare for that fight, but says there is a different feeling this time around.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve had all of these amazing experiences, winning gold medals at international amateur tournaments, Commonwealth Games, Olympics and none of it really felt the way I was hoping it would feel,\u201d he said. \u201cThis one is exactly how I was hoping it would be.<\/p>\n

\"FloydFloyd Masson (left) and David Nyika will face off in Auckland on August 8. Photo \/ Photosport<\/p>\n

\u201cMasson\u2019s never fought anybody with the skills that I possess. He\u2019s a rough, tough, rock\u2019em, sock\u2019em kind of guy, but I\u2019ve known him for so long, that he can box and he can move.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve had about 15 weeks to think about this fight, and it\u2019s the only fight that makes sense right now. So I put that loss behind me and focus on the way forward.\u201d<\/p>\n

It will be just the third professional appearance on home soil for Nyika since debuting on the undercard of New Zealand great Joseph Parker\u2019s victory over compatriot Junior Fa in 2021.<\/p>\n

The fight will be broadcast on TVNZ as part of its pay-per-view model<\/a> being used to broadcast the Football World Cup.<\/p>\n

The undercard will feature a battle of the codes with a bout between former New Zealand Warriors NRL star Manu Vatuvei and former All Black Rene Ranger, while Hemi Ahio makes his long-awaited return to the ring against Kiki Toa Leutele.<\/p>\n

Full fight card schedule<\/p>\n

David Nyika v Floyd Masson \u2013 cruiserweight (12 x 3 min rounds)<\/p>\n

Hemi Ahio v Kiki Toa Leutele \u2013 heavyweight (10 x 3 min rounds)<\/p>\n

Sheilla Yama v Jessica Messina \u2013 super lightweight (10 x 2 min rounds)<\/p>\n

Manu Vatuvei v Rene Ranger \u2013 heavyweight (4 x 3 min rounds)<\/p>\n

John Parker v Nik Charalampous \u2013 cruiserweight (6 x 3 min rounds)<\/p>\n

Alex Leapai Junior v Arsene Fosso \u2013 heavyweight (6 x 3 min rounds)<\/p>\n

Ben Francis<\/a> is an Auckland-based reporter for the New Zealand Herald who covers breaking sports news.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cI always get a little bit choked up when I talk about it because it is so personal…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":493331,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[9092,3017,51,642,5837,67138,2023,2534,197088,6284,18983,197087,75866,8456,71,19724,24396,220191,24691,111,139,197085,69,1118,143,24816,312,213,14907,2563,377],"class_list":["post-493330","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-against","tag-ahead","tag-auckland","tag-august","tag-battle","tag-bout","tag-boxing","tag-cancer","tag-cruiserweight","tag-david","tag-draws","tag-eliminator","tag-floyd","tag-fresh","tag-from","tag-given","tag-inspiration","tag-masson","tag-motivation","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nyika","tag-nz","tag-of","tag-partners","tag-perspective","tag-says","tag-sports","tag-successful","tag-title","tag-world"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/493330","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=493330"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/493330\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/493331"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=493330"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=493330"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=493330"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}