Kiwi Commonwealth Games boxing gold medallist David Nyika took his training up a gear this morning, getting into the ring for some sparring with fellow heavyweight Junior Fa, and UFC fighter Israel Adesanya.
Travelling up from Hamilton to get some sparring in, Nyika joined up with the duo at City Kickboxing in Auckland for a quick workout.
"I'm looking at kicking some shins today, I want to take someone down and beat them up," he joked.
Nyika then spoke about the prospect of squaring off against Adesanya, with the adopted Kiwi UFC star adept at more than one combat sport.
"He's a world class mixed martial artist, but he's also a world class boxer."
"He's probably one of the best boxers in New Zealand at the moment."
"I'm not blowing his horn, but he's an outstanding athlete so it's awesome just to be in this environment."
After taking home Commonwealth Games gold in Australia earlier this year, Nyika now has his sights firmly set on Olympic glory in Japan in 2020, having to keep himself busy in the meantime.
"I guess I'm just lining up for qualification."
"I want to get my ranking up so I can be a seeded boxer at these major tournaments leading up to the Olympic Games.
"I have to be number one in New Zealand, then I want to be in the top four in Oceania-Asia.
"I'm guessing it'll be a pretty busy year next year, I'm going to have to travel abroad to get my points up and be within the top 10 in the world."
Nyika will next be in action at the New Zealand National Boxing Championships, taking place from October 2-6 in Christchurch.
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