Kiwi boxer David Nyika opens up on fiancée Lexy Thornberry’s cancer diagnosis
Tuesday, 2 December 2025
When Kiwi boxer David Nyika found out his fiancée Lexy Thornberry had been diagnosed with head and neck cancer, it felt like he’d been hit harder than even Jai Opetaia managed in their January world title fight that left him unconscious on the canvas.
But, like that day on the Gold Coast, when he suffered a fourth-round knockout at the hands of the best cruiserweight on the planet in a fight he took at just three weeks’ notice, the 30-year-old Kiwi has picked himself up, dusted himself off and got on with life.
Nyika spoke to The Post, from his base in Gatton, south-east Queensland, in his first media interview since his 24-year-old fiancée, and trainer’s daughter, revealed she was undergoing treatment for the cancer. She has just started chemotherapy.
The 11-1 Kiwi also confirmed that, despite the diagnosis, and the shock their close-knit family group had gone through processing it and dealing with the realities, he is going ahead with his December 13 fight against Chinese boxer Wuzhati Nuerlang.
That matchup is being held in Gatton, where Nyika and his fiancée are based while he trains there under her father, Noel Thornberry. He hopes the fight night he headlines can promote awareness for the cancer cause and help with fundraising efforts, via a gofundme page set up, for his wife-to-be’s treatment and recovery.
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It is the former Olympic bronze medallist’s first fight since his June stoppage of Aucklander Nik Charalampous on the Gallen-SBW undercard in Sydney.
“Oh man, I wear my heart on my sleeve. I love this woman. I will do everything I can to make this journey as painless and as comfortable as it possibly could be,” Nyika told The Post. “I’m feeling really confident we’ve got the right team around us.
“Lex just started chemo yesterday, and the whole team of doctors mobilised instantly. You’ve got a young woman with a curable disease. I’m really confident and have a lot faith in the medical team we have here.”
The Waikato boxer said it had taken a few weeks to process the news and ramifications of the diagnosis, but now they had sprung into “dealing-with-it” mode.
“We are about three and a-half weeks in now, and time has never gone any slower. The time spent waiting to find out the plan was excruciating. It took every ounce of our strength just to keep it together.
“But I’m built for this. My dad is a pharmacist, my mum is a physio, and I’ve been a fulltime athlete since I was 18, and worked with some outstanding medical people. I feel so fortunate that I’m able to share this journey with someone I care about so much.
“I’m very confident we’ll get through this and have some amazing stories to tell our kids. What a fairytale year it has been … though it all feels pretty rough at the moment. When we tell our kids these stories, they’ll think we’re from this amazing storybook.”
Adding to the dynamic is Lexy’s father, and Nyika’s trainer, Noel who, like his charge, finds himself being pulled in multiple directions.
“He goes straight into solution mode, and always wants to give as much as he can when there’s really not much he can do,” notes Nyika. “He’s just worried sick. It’s an opportunity for me to prove to him he can trust me with his daughter … with his family.”
Nyika said with Lexy now set up at their home, having undergone the surgical work she needed to in hospital, it was now about him effectively becoming two people – the boxer preparing for his fight, and the fiancé tending to his betrothed.
“From the moment I wake up to the moment I go to sleep I’m trying to think of the best way I can help Lex. She’s supported me from the day we met to achieve my selfish goals and dreams, this is the least I can do to pay it back and forward.
“I’ve got the garden looking beautiful. Our chickens are in the backyard laying six eggs a day, which is coming in handy. I thought I was preparing for kids … but now it turns out I’ve been preparing for this chapter, which was unexpected, but we’re ready for it.
“I’m super capable of looking after Lex and giving her everything she needs.”
The fighter, of course, knows no other way. It’s time to fight, this time for a most precious life.