It is not rare in boxing for a relatively one-sided fight to turn completely into the favor of a losing fighter. Though not common, it is one of those moments that boxing is known best for, and something that was best illustrated this past weekend as Fabio Wardley fought replacement opponent Justis Huni in the main event for Queensberry Promotions’ June 7th show, held in the Portman Football Road Ground in Ipswich, UK.
American fighter Jarrell Miller had originally been set to face prominent British heavyweight (200+ lbs) Fabio Wardley (19-0-1, 18 KO’s), but Miller eventually pulled out due to a shoulder injury, allowing 26-year old Australian contender Justis Huni (12-1, 7 KO’s) to receive the opportunity to win the vacant WBA interim heavyweight title that had been put on the line for their 12-round bout.
And despite having less time to prepare, Huni did astoundingly well on June 7th against the 30-year old Wardley.
So much so, that Huni had been winning on all three judges’ scorecards before a right hand dropped him and he was ruled to be knocked out after failing to beat the referee’s count of ten―though this matter is a point of contention given the referee opted to wave the fight off rather than allow Huni to scramble up to continue.
Prior to suffering a knockout, Huni had showcased himself on both the offensive and defensive sides, coming in with some eyecatching and accurate shots with the former and proving very difficult to hit when it came to the latter.
Wardley was as active as able but seemed daunted by his own task as Huni proved more elusive and defensively solid. Applying sharp counterattacks and sometimes even boxing from the outside to further confound Wardley, Huni’s own activity matched that of the British fighter but he notably did better with his landed power punch percentage:
As such, it was Huni who was clearly ahead by the fatal 10th round where he got knocked out; as reflected by the judges’ scorecards up to that point of 88-83 and 89-82 twice.
Amidst a combination that Huni was throwing in the 10th round, Wardley managed to land a powerful right hand that floored Huni and saw him counted out before the referee waved the match off―a controversial decision that Huni’s corner made note of.
Wardley would be able to hold his hand up in this case to win the vacant WBA interim title and net a another knockout win on his record, but it was Justis Huni who had impressed and perhaps have been blindsided by not being able to continue the match.
Either way, neither fighter truly suffered any loss in reputation with Fabio Wardley still regarded as one of the most dangerous heavyweights in boxing, while Justis Huni can now rightfully be seen as a heavyweight to watch out for given his performance.
With Wardley’s WBA interim title being set to be a mere placeholder if Daniel Dubois (22-2, 21 KO’s)―also a Queensberry Promotions fighter―fails to defeat Oleksandr Usyk (23-0, 14 KO’s) in their upcoming July 19th bout, an opportunity to rematch Justis Huni wouldn’t be unseemly; especially considering Huni has already indicated his wishes to fight Wardley again.
This could make for an arguably more exciting match than the first as the two will head into their fight much better prepared and familiar with each other’s styles this time around.
