Aussie Huni suffers shock KO in UK showdown
Australian heavyweight Justis Huni's valiant bid for the WBA Interim world title has been ended by devastating 10th-round knockout to rising English star Fabio Wardley.
The 26-year-old from Brisbane had stepped in at short notice to replace injured American fighter Jarrell Miller and for nine rounds looked in complete control in front of a raucous crowd at Portman Road, the home of Wardley's beloved English soccer team Ipswich Town.
Boasting a glittering amateur career, including a World Championships bronze, Huni looked keen to display his credentials on the big stage.
He demonstrated his firepower from the off, causing Wardley real problems with powerful combinations, mercilessly targeting the body as he racked up round after round on the judges' scorecards.
Huni insisted he hadn't flown over 10,000 miles not to try to cause an upset and his stinging right hand, lively footwork and impressive hand speed continued to cause problems as the tiring Briton battled to contain his opponent going into the tenth.
But it was then that Wardley somehow pulled out a stunning right-hand from absolutely nowhere, forcing an astonishing KO and sending his relieved fans into wild celebrations.
"That's my curse. I even said before this fight it only takes one second to switch off, it happened tonight," Hunis told DAZN.
"I'm grateful to Fabio and his team and to Ipswich to be able to perform in front of you. Get behind him, he's going to do great things.
"He's just an awesome fighter. He never gave up and he got the win, he deserves it. Thank you Ipswich for the opportunity to perform here, I'm grateful."
Wardley, whose win will boost his WBA ranking with the sanctioning body, was keen to praise the previously unbeaten Aussie for his performance.
"I don't profess to being any Usyk or Justis Huni who has all the skills, but I know how to win fights and that's one thing I knew I had to do tonight," Wardley said in the ring.
"Justis Huni is a great operator. We'd drilled everything over and over again. I should've performed better in some of those rounds.
"He's a great boxer, some great skills and he showed me everything he had tonight. I didn't expect to bank rounds like that with Justis. I hurt him a bit in the first round and maybe I had too much confidence early on."
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