Even as an inquisitive, wiry child, David Nyika embraced fight over flight. Put a bigger, older sibling in front of him and there was no hesitation in taking them on.
"If he was ever scared his first reaction was to race straight into the jaws of the lion," Nyika's father, Simon, recalls. "Dave was always very much the fight reflex. That set him apart from the other kids."
Long before Nyika entrenched his elite status on the global amateur boxing scene by claiming consecutive Commonwealth Games gold medals in two weight classes, he appeared to be born to fight.
With qualification for the postponed Tokyo Olympics secured, Nyika is now on the cusp of his professional debut as the headline undercard act on the Joseph Parker and Junior Fa brawl at Spark Arena in Auckland next Saturday night.
When Nyika strides to the ring for his first foray into the entertainment side of boxing for a cruiserweight bout against the 3-0 Jess Maio, expect the same instincts he displayed in his formative years to shine.
"It didn't matter whether it was going to be academic, business or sport, he would find a way of being good at something," Simon Nyika says. "He always wants to test himself."
Nyika's arrival as the third of four children — Josh, 28, Ruby, 26, Zoe, 22, the others — immediately changed the family dynamic.
Parents Simon and Susie had an extra body to juggle, this one physical, energetic, kinaesthetic; learning by pulling things apart to figure out how they worked.
"You'd think something was reasonably childproof and then it wasn't because he'd find a way to wreck it."
Whether it was chasing games around the house, competing with his older brother's friends or being dragged along clinging to the legs of a rugby opponent, the future pugilist never let his skinny build deter him.
When the Nyika family moved to Basingstoke, Hampshire, in south England, Dave, eight-years-old at the time, developed a belief he wasn't good at anything.
A burning desire to achieve, to be recognised, first drove him to mathematics. He started doing extra homework, and soon excelled with numbers.
Next it was running. Back in Hamilton, he won the Puketaha Primary School cross-country and set his sights on the Olympics. He began training which led to success at inter-school events. His father then decided to join him for his maiden 10km race.
"He kicked my arse and I thought, 'Oh he's pretty good.' It made me feel ashamed being beaten by this skinny little 11-year-old."
Together they joined the Hawks running club but Dave soon became bored with the monotony of the training. Thus, the boxing flame caught light.
In his youth, Simon Nyika's family fled Uganda during Idi Amin's military dictatorship. He bonded with his father, Tom, by watching boxing during the 1970s era. He idolised Muhammad Ali, Sugar Ray Leonard and, later, Evander Holyfield without ever becoming personally involved.
That passion transferred to watching combat sports with his sons — both of whom gravitated to boxing.
Eldest son Josh represented New Zealand, winning an Oceania title, before turning to law and raising two children.
Dave, initially, preferred mixed martial arts over the sweet science.
"The stuff we'd been watching seemed a bit brutal and I thought I needed to steer him into something that's not quite as bloodthirsty."
And so, at 14, Dave attended his first boxing gym, Ringside in Frankton. From that moment boxing was plan A, with no alternative considered.
Training under the experienced Rik Ellis ensured a cautious approach to learning ring craft.
One year after lacing the gloves, in his first amateur fight, the innate spatial awareness — distance, timing, angles — that would become Nyika's trademark were immediately evident.
"I suspected he was going to be very good but you don't really know. He took to it, loved it, and showed a lot of promise from the early stage.
"It was his first fight when I knew because he was doing stuff that normally you don't see in novices — things normally only very experienced boxers can pull off."
Soon after that first fight, Nyika travelled abroad to represent New Zealand and again prove his prodigious talent by beating Eastern European boxers with more than 200 bouts worth of experience.
These days Nyika's frame exemplifies his physical assets — yet it's the mental side that's one of his greatest strengths. While many prospective boxers harness skills and affinity for the sport, few possess the dedicated discipline required for such a gruelling individual pursuit.
Nyika has overcome challenges that forced him to learn, adjust and summon the strength to say he won't be denied forever. He now largely trains himself after splitting with long-time coach Ellis, while stomaching the disappointment of missing qualification for the 2016 Olympics.
Last year, he travelled to Europe and Asia amid the global pandemic to right that wrong and become New Zealand's first male since 2004 to book his Olympic dream. Every step of the way Nyika's family rode that emotional roller-coaster with him.
"There have been some decisions that seemed a bit hard to understand," Simon says. "The challenge for a boxer is when you know you've boxed well, you feel like you've won and you don't get the result, it's hard to know what to do with that.
"If you lose to someone because you didn't perform you know what to work on. But if your performance isn't recognised in an official way it's very hard. That's where Dave's had to learn patience.
"Getting to this moment has been very much characterised by that. He's used to being the young gun but he's 25 now. It's probably taken a bit longer to get to where he wants but he's here and that's added to his maturity, having to work for his success and have those setbacks."
Uncertainty surrounding the Tokyo Olympics leaves Nyika in limbo; waiting, hoping that the pinnacle event will proceed in July. In the meantime, shifting focus to his pro debut, training alongside Parker and gaining an insight into everything that arena entails, provides a renewed sense of purpose.
Growing up in a physical family environment enhanced Nyika's aggression and self-defence skills but, as with all evolution, there comes a point where roles reverse.
"We're still quite competitive," Simon says. "If we're doing a bit of sparring with Dave and he's taking it easy on me and I manage to land something on him or if I smack talk him, he'll sink one in just to let me know this is serious.
"It always reminds me boxing is not a game. It's a civilised war.
"That's something that's always in the back of your mind. Everybody has a threshold for risk, and that depends on how much you value what you want to achieve. For him, it's worth the risk."
It has always been fight over flight.
The move is another twist in the midfielder’s colourful career.