David Nyika lost a bruising, physical heavyweight boxing semi-final to Russian Muslim Gadzhimagomedov today, but nevertheless was confirmed as an Olympic bronze medallist.
Because boxing rules do not allow the loser of a bout to fight again in the same tournament, both losing semi-finalists in Olympic bouts are both awarded a bronze medal.
Nyika was always going to have his work cut out today. He lost to the tall Russian in 2019 and knew going into the fight that Gadzhimagomedov had not lost a fight in four years.
Even so, the man from Hamilton was far from overawed. He landed some snappy jabs and attempted to introduce some powerful right hand crosses, but found it difficult penetrating the Russian’s defences.
Nyika, 25, did everything he could – he switched from an orthodox stance to southpaw repeatedly and even tried leading with his right, but the Russian is a tough boxer and landed plenty of shots of his own.
Four judges gave the bout to Gadzhimagomedov, and three of them gave him all three rounds. One judge, however, awarded the New Zealander all three rounds, which seemed slightly generous.
Nyika can leave Tokyo with his head held high. He showed a wide range of boxing skills, including the ability to evade punches, until he ran into the Russian and lost his poise somewhat. After receiving a first-round bye, he won unanimous points decisions over Moroccan Youness Baalla and Belarusian Ulad Smiallikov.
Nyika is the fourth New Zealand boxer to win an Olympic medal. Ted Morgan won the welterweight gold at Amsterdam in 1928, Kevin Barry won a light heavyweight silver in 1984 and David Tua won a heavyweight bronze in 1992.
Later Nyika spoke very eloquently.
“I’ve been through all the emotions, the pride and love of so many New Zealanders, the ecstasy of victory and now the heartbreak of defeat. I’ve had the whole package.”
He said he felt like he came off his board today, but had been riding an amazing wave.
“I’ve been largely self-managed and self-coached for the past five years and I’ve been through a lot over the last 18 months, but I’ve stuck to my guns, and I’m happy to be where I am right now, given my circumstances.”
He said that to be able to have made it to an Olympic medal made him proud. “I have succeeded with the great portion of my childhood dreams and that’s amazing. I didn’t know I was going to come this far back when I wanted to be a 100-metre sprinter, and then a marathon runner.
“This is bitter/sweet, but I have to give him all credit for bringing his A game.”
Asked about a potential professional career, Nyika said this may well have been his last appearance at a Games for New Zealand. “I’d like to see what the future holds and I’m excited about whatever opportunities arise.”
With two Commonwealth Games golds to his name and now an Olympic medal, he seems assured of a profitable career in the professional ranks, if he wants to pursue it.