‘Politics’ led to split with coach
Both David Nyika and former coach Rik Ellis said the ‘‘politics within boxing’’ had strained their relationship and forced them to split.
The 22-year-old Kiwi boxer and Ellis had been together for ‘‘around eight years’’ before going their separate ways prior to the AIBA world championships that started last month in Hamburg, Germany.
Nyika admitted they ‘‘didn’t end on the best note’’ and the Hamilton heavyweight was training alone in empty car parks ahead of the biennial tournament that’s second only to the Olympics in amateur boxing.
Ellis mentored Nyika from a gangly 14-year-old all the way to light heavyweight gold at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
Nyika said he had nothing but respect for Ellis given what they achieved together but conceded that ‘‘a lot of stressful times’’ led to them falling out before the world championships.
The biggest disappointment they had to overcome was Nyika unfortunately not qualifying for last year’s Olympic Games in Rio.
‘‘He decided he couldn’t take me to world champs and he couldn’t train me anymore but that’s pretty much that,’’ Nyika said. ’’We can take credit from the work we’ve done together and where he’s got me to today.
‘‘I’ve experienced first hand how stressful it does become and all the strife that comes with box- ing top level athletes.’’
Nyika was last month controversially eliminated at the quarter-final stage of the world championships by Russian Olympic champion Evgeny Tishchenko.
Ellis, who was scheduled to travel to the tournament in Hamburg, believes Nyika can still go far in his career and wished him ‘‘all the best and all the luck’’ but said things reach their end.
‘‘There was a lot of complications in regard to Boxing New Zealand and the executives at that time,’’ Ellis said.
‘‘There were problems we had to deal with that were not really ours, but in the end they got too heavy.
‘‘It was easier for me to walk the other way and for him to walk the other way.’’
Ellis had been in Nyika’s corner back when he was fighting to reach the 2014 Commonwealth Games - needing to win medals in tournaments in Poland first, then Albania, and win the Golden Gloves national competition in Taupo.
Nyika did all that before winning gold as an 18-year-old in Glasgow, but his recent loss to Tishchenko - where many ringside felt the Kiwi had won - typifies his bad luck at global events ever since.
His Olympics hopes were dashed last year at qualifying events in China and Azerbaijan and the first loss, to Uzbekistan’s Rustam Tulaganov, left Ellis feeling ‘‘ripped off’’.
Tulaganov then won bronze at the Rio Olympics after Nyika lost to Holland’s Roy Korving in Azerbaijan.
Nyika then comfortably won his fifth national title in Rotorua but didn’t fight again competitively for almost a year.
The gloves were back on when Nyika represented the British Lionhearts franchise in the World Series of Boxing in June and he won both his fights in France and Kazakhstan.
Nyika then retained his Oceania title just three weeks later with a unanimous points decision win over Australian No 1 Jason Whateley.
The 2018 Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast are on the horizon, in April. Nyika has confirmed funding for that but must prepare without his longtime coach and mentor.