Nyika outpoints Masson to earn IBF world title shot

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Author: Christopher Reive,
Publish Date: Sun, 9 Aug 2026, 8:49am

Standing in the ring at Auckland’s Eventfinda Stadium after outpointing Floyd Masson, David Nyika didn’t waste time calling his next shot.

“Viddal Riley I’m coming for you next. Let’s bring it to New Zealand.”

After a unanimous decision win over his fellow Waikato-born, Australian-based cruiserweight Masson, Nyika should get his request.

The bout in Auckland was billed as a world title eliminator, with the winner expected to earn a date with undefeated British fighter Riley for the vacant belt in the not-too-distant future.

And with such an opportunity on the line, the two put on a show deserving of it.

Masson came on strong from the opening bell, pushing the pace and landing the better shots as Nyika looked to invest in the body.

Nyika began to mix his targets more as the bout went on, with both fighters having plenty of success.

There was very little to split the two combatants on the night, though a strong finish – coupled by a point deduction to Masson after his mouthpiece came out too many times – saw Nyika get the job done.

“I felt like I had a bit of a lull in the eighth round, but then the ninth round I just perked back up and just did what I do best and that’s box, box, box and use my feet, use my range,” Nyika told media after his win.

“He’s a tricky customer and I was always interested about what the dynamic would be fighting Floyd because he’s actually a counterpuncher. He actually prefers to box on the back foot. So when I saw him overextending and reaching and lunging, I knew that I was starting to kind of untether him a little bit.”

The two-time Commonwealth Games gold medalist and Olympic bronze medalist moved to 13-1 in his professional career with the win and now moves to within a win of realising the dream of being crowned world champion by one of the four major governing bodies in the sport.

“I probably took three or four punches that I shouldn’t have taken, but I never felt like I was in trouble and I don’t think he was able to attack my body the way that he would like to.

“Overall, I think I stopped him from implementing his game plan and imposed my will.”

Earlier in the night, Waikato-trained boxer Sheilla Yama continued her march towards a world title shot, outpointing Australian Jessica Messina in an all-action affair.

Yama was putting her IBF International Super Lightweight title on the line in the bout, and Messina took the fight to her from the outset.

Applying an ‘all gas, no brakes’ approach, Messina consistently walked forward and threw her punches in bunches while Yama was forced to fight on the counter.

It took her a few rounds, but once Yama figured out her timing, she took over to win a convincing decision.