The Boxing Truth®: Justis Huni

Showing posts with label Justis Huni. Show all posts

Monday, June 9, 2025

On The Brink Of Defeat: Wardley Finds KO Punch

The circumstances that led to the Heavyweight bout between unbeaten top Heavyweight contenders Fabio Wardley and Justis Huni on June 7th at the Portman Road Football Ground in Ipswich, England was not ideal for either boxer. Due to the fact that it was made on short notice where Huni stepped in for the injured Jarrell Miller, neither man had the type of preparation that they would likely prefer going into a fight.

When one throws into the equation rainy conditions outdoors, one may not have known what to expect. In terms of styles, this was an adjustment for Wardley, who had been preparing to face a power puncher like himself in Miller, now tasked with facing a more balanced boxer/puncher in Huni. While the perception when fights like this are made on short notice is the fighter stepping into a fight is at a disadvantage, this was a case where one could say it was truly unknown as to having an idea of what could happen with one fighter having the type of punching power that is sudden and devastating going against a fighter that could do a little of everything.

For a significant portion of this bout, it was Huni’s Boxing ability that was on full display. Consistently getting his punches off first, often throwing in combination, and backing the power puncher Wardley up, Huni dictated the combat and frequently landed flush right hands to the head. Gradually, it appeared that it was Huni that had the edge and if one were unaware of the circumstances, they might have assumed that it was Wardley, who stepped into the fight on short notice and not the other way around.

With each passing round, Huni continued to dominate the action. After eight rounds, this observer, as I often do, shared how I was seeing things in real time on X (Formerly Twitter) and said that Huni had won the fight on my unofficial scorecard having won seven of eight rounds of the scheduled twelve round bout. In terms of points, Wardley was behind to a point that he would likely need a knockout to win the fight. Yours truly commented that Wardley might have a punch in him to turn things around, but it also appeared that he was struggling due to both fatigue and the punishment that Huni had dished out and I questioned whether he would be able to go the distance.

If one were objective, there was little evidence that there would be a sudden change as Huni continued to bring the fight to Wardley in the ninth round. Having covered thousands of fights on every level of the sport over the last three decades and being a Boxing lifer long before I began my journey as a writer and began covering combat sports, I had learned long ago that you can never truly dismiss the possibility of a sudden turn, but with Huni dominating to the degree he was, it seemed unlikely that Wardley would be able to land that fight changing punch.

What by all accounts looked to be certain victory for Huni would change in the type of fashion that should remind even the most jaded cynic what makes Boxing great. In an exchange of punches at the midway point in the tenth round, Wardley connected with an overhand right that came out of nowhere and seemed to be thrown in desperation, which landed flush and sent Huni down hard on the canvas. Huni struggled and was unable to beat the count. On the brink of what appeared to be certain defeat, Fabio Wardley found the knockout punch that gave him the most dramatic win of his career.

The certainty that Wardley needed a knockout to remain unbeaten can be illustrated in the official scorecards in that he was down by six points on two official scorecards and on five on the third entering the tenth round. As dramatic a victory and an illustration of the type of power Wardley is blessed with, if one is objective, they would say that Wardley, his handlers, and supporters got a legitimate scare.

Although Wardley maintained his number one ranking in the WBA’s Heavyweight ratings having retained Interim/Regular champion status as the contender currently in position as the World Boxing Association’s mandatory challenger with this victory, he was unable to make the type of statement that would give the impression that he is ready to fight for a world title. Yes, he did get a knockout in the purest sense of the word, however, one might argue that it is Justis Huni who comes out of this fight having made a convincing argument as a potential challenger down the line for either of the Heavyweight division’s two world champions Oleksandr Usyk and Daniel Dubois.

With Usyk and Dubois preparing for their rematch for the Undisputed Heavyweight championship of the world on July 19th, and assuming that there might be a third fight between the two in the future per a rematch clause, Waedley may not get an opportunity to fight for the title in the near future. If Wardley is going to fight again before the end of 2025, an obvious option would be to give Justis Huni a rematch. As brutal as the knockout was, Huni has earned another opportunity and Wardley and his team will likely want to quell the questions that will likely be asked coming out of this fight and the best way to do that is by giving Huni a rematch.

“And That's The Boxing Truth,"

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Wednesday, June 4, 2025

Wardley-Huni Preview

As the Boxing world prepares for the reunification of the Heavyweight division, which will come when the two champions of the division Oleksandr Usyk and Daniel Dubois meet in July in a highly anticipated rematch, this time for the Undisputed Heavyweight championship of the world, focus has begun to take shape in regard to the potential challengers that might follow for the winner of that fight. Recently, we saw the fast-rising Moses Itauma score his twelfth victory in his career by scoring a devastating knockout of Mike Balogun on May 24th. Itauma, who is rated in the top three in the Heavyweight division in both the WBO and the WBA rankings, may be on the short list of potential challengers for either Usyk or Dubois.

On June 7th, however, another Heavyweight who could also be a potential option will return to action. This observer is referring to undefeated WBA number one rated Heavyweight contender Fabio Wardley, who will face fellow unbeaten Heavyweight Justis Huni in a scheduled twelve round bout where Interim/Regular champion status in the WBA rankings, or in lay language the mandatory challenger position will be at stake. The fight, which will be held at the Portman Road Football Ground in Ipswich, England can be seen worldwide on digital subscription sports streaming network DAZN.

This is an interesting fight in a couple of aspects. One, it is always intriguing when two unbeaten Heavyweights square off against each other, but in this case, there is a slight wrinkle attached here. The wrinkle being that Wardley was originally scheduled to face one-time Heavyweight contender Jarrell Miller, who had to withdraw from the fight due to a shoulder injury. With Miller out, in steps Justis Huni, who took the fight on one month’s notice.

There have of course been countless scenarios throughout Boxing history where a fighter has stepped in with limited time to prepare, in some cases mere days before a scheduled bout, but whenever there is a chance with such a narrow timeframe to prepare, it is as much an adjustment for the fighter stepping in on short notice as it is for the fighter, whose scheduled opponent fell out. Some might say this fight being made with one month to prepare makes things more interesting. Not only does this fight now feature two unbeaten fighters against each other, but in terms of a clash of styles, this now has the dynamic of a puncher in Wardley, (18-0,1, with 17 Knockouts) who has knocked out seventeen of his nineteen opponents, registering a career knockout percentage just under 95% going against more of a boxer in Huni (12-0, with 7 Knockouts) than would have been the case had Jarrell Miller, a fighter also known for punching power, had not withdrawn due to injury.

While Huni has more experience going deeper into fights compared to his opponent, he does have some punching power in his own right having stopped nearly 59% of his opponents. Whether or not his punching power will come into the equation here remains to be seen, but logic suggests that he will try and extend Wardley into the deep waters of this fight by trying to box him rather than trading punches, which is always a crap shoot, especially in the Heavyweight division.

Something one should keep in mind here is Fabio Wardley has only been the distance twice in his career earning a win and a draw in those two outings and has only been twelve rounds once and that was in the draw against Fraser Clarke in March of last year. Although that statistic may ultimately prove to be moot, it is something that for the moment seems on the surface as though it could be a factor due to the circumstances in the change of opponent for him. On the other side of the equation, Huni , after winning regional titles including the Pan-Pacific Heavyweight title, recognized by the IBF and the Oriental Heavyweight title, recognized by the WBO, this fight represents a step up against the hardest hitting opponent of his career. If he is successful, it will obviously put him right in line to face the winner of the Usyk-Dubois rematch and, despite being unbeaten, it might be a strong enough argument to be next in line as many will view it as an upset.

With the Usyk-Dubois rematch around the corner, the spotlight will be focused on the Heavyweight division for the next several weeks with not only this fight, but also former WBC Heavyweight world champion Deontay Wilder preparing to make a comeback later in June as well. Will it be Wardley or Huni that will emerge victorious? We will find out Saturday, June 7th.

“And That's The Boxing Truth."

Wardley vs. Huni takes place on Saturday,June 7th at Portman Road Football Ground in Ipswich, England. The fight as well as it's full undercard can be seen worldwide on digital subscription sports streaming networks DAZN beginning at 11:30AM ET/8:30AM PT with Before The Bell, which will feature preliminary bouts. The main card will begin at 2PM ET/11AM PT.