New Zealand boxing prospect David Nyika was thrilled with his first win at the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics - but shocked after his opponent attempted to bite him.
The Kiwi boxer is desperate to add to the two gold medals he won at the 2014 and 2018 Commonwealth Games but was appalled by the behaviour of Moroccan fighter Youness Baalla.
“Did you see that? I don’t think the ref saw it. She was the closest one," Nyika said in his post-fight interview.
“He didn’t get a full mouthful. Luckily he had his mouthguard in and I was a bit sweaty. I don’t remember what I said to him but I gave him a little bit of a cheek.
“I have been bitten once on the chest before at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games. But c’mon man, this is the Olympics, get your s--- together.
“He’s been on the scene for a while, but he’s usually a calm, composed character. That happened and I was like, ‘I thought we were having fun’, but he clearly wasn’t.
“My bad. I told him after, ‘it’s OK’. He wasn’t happy. He wasn’t too chuffed. That was foul play.”
The incident has already drawn obvious comparisons to the 1997 rematch between Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield, billed as 'The Sound and The Fury' and afterwards infamously referred to as 'The Bite Fight' or 'The Bite of '97'.
Check out the shocking scenes for yourself down below:
The 25-year-old switched from the professional to the amateur ranks prior to the tournament and made the perfect start to the Olympic Games with his maiden victory at the Kokugikan Arena in Tokyo, which hosted the WWE's The Beast in the East event in 2015.
“I did everything that I was hoping to do. The execution was up to par, so I’m happy with that,” he added.
“I know that the game plan we put together was exactly what it needed to be. I’m pretty confident in my abilities, and it’s great to use some fight analysis stuff we’ve done, getting an idea of who I’m fighting, so I can prepare for the fight.”
After taking some time to reflect on what had just occurred, Nyika took to social media to urge his followers to stop sending hate to Baalla.
"Please read: The heat of battle can bring the best AND the worst out of people. This is part of sport. I have nothing but respect for my opponent and can appreciate the frustration he must have felt. *Please don’t reach out to him if you have nothing nice to say.* - Dave."
The victory came in only Nyika's 14th amateur fight and establishes him as one of New Zealand's best chances of securing a gold medal in the Olympics for the first time since Ted Morgan in 1928.
He now heads into the quarterfinals where he will take on Belarusian fighter Uladzislau Smiahlikau in the last eight on Friday.
Read more: Tokyo Olympics 2021: Latest News, Dates, Results, Sports And Everything You Need To Know