Fabio Wardley lands huge right hand to snatch knockout win from brink of defeat
Fabio Wardley produced a dramatic knockout win over Justis Huni at Portman Road.
The hometown hero went into the contest as the favourite to secure the interim WBA heavyweight title and put himself at the front of the queue for a shot at the WBA belt.
But Wardley looked in deep trouble against Australian Huni, a late replacement for intended opponent Jarrell Miller, who pulled out with a shoulder injury at the end of April.
Heading into the 10th round, Wardley appeared to be well behind on the scorecards and did not seem to have much left but he landed a right hand on the chin of Huni, who was sent to the canvas and counted out.
It was an 18th knockout of 19 wins for 30-year-old Wardley, who remains unbeaten.
He landed a strong shot on Huni, who had won all of his previous 12 fights, at the end of the first round, but by the third round the Australian had begun to take control.
More blows rocked Wardley in the fourth round and by the seventh he was bleeding from the mouth, the speed of Huni causing him all sorts of problems.
The crowd had been quietened with Wardley apparently on the verge of defeat but the atmosphere changed in an instant as he found the perfect response.
Wardley could now be in line for a clash with WBA champion Oleksandr Usyk, who will fight Briton's Daniel Dubois at Wembley next month.
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Update: Date: 23:30 BST 7 June Title: Wardley rolls on Content: Wardley beats Huni by knockout The Fabio Wardley train rolls on! Justis Huni was putting on a show until Wardley's right hand came to the party at Portman Road and that was that. That's all from us though, thanks for being here for that showstopper and we'll see you again soon. Read Kal Sajad's report from ringside. Update: Date: 23:29 BST 7 June Title: Post Content: Wardley beat Huni by knockout What a night! Update: Date: 23:26 BST 7 June Title: Who can be Britain's next heavyweight superstar? Content: Wardley beat Huni by knockout Time to look back at our story from almost a year ago where we looked at who Britain's next heavyweight star might be. Of course, Daniel Dubois has gone on to become world champion and is one win away from becoming undisputed champion of the world, but two of the other three are still going strong. Fabio Wardley is heading towards a potential world title fight after dealing with Justis Huni in extraordinary fashion. Johnny Fisher may need to go back to to the drawing board after a heavy knockout loss to David Allen. Take a look for yourself here. Update: Date: 23:23 BST 7 June Title: 'It adds to the mystique around Wardley' Content: Wardley beat Huni by knockout Carl FramptonFormer world champion on DAZN I didn't see it coming. Fair play to Fabio for pulling that out of the bag. It adds to the mystique around him and his background. He got compeltely outboxed but he still had the dynamite to finish it off. When you carry power like that, you can do that. I think Justis Huni got a little be complacent and walked into one. Update: Date: 23:21 BST 7 June Title: 'He's just an awesome fighter' Content: Wardley beats Huni by knockout Justis Huni speaking to DAZN: "That's my curse. I even said before this fight it only takes one second to switch off, it happened tonight. 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." Update: Date: 23:19 BST 7 June Title: 'That was a Deontay Wilder moment' Content: Wardley beats Huni by knockout Queensberry promoter Frank Warren speaking to DAZN: "Eat your heart out Deontay Wilder, that was a Deontay Wilder moment. He's got a big heart, he's a powerful man and again, he stopped another one. I've got to take my hat off to Justis Huni, they both boxed very well. Ipswich, you did him proud and he did Ipswich proud too. "After that fight, it will settle the heavyweight division now to know who will be the mandatories. He is there. He's going to take a bit of time out now. Let the dust settle. He's in the position and he's done that through sheer grit, sheer hear. "This is such a fabulous place to put a fight on. I'm sorry about the rain, but everyone stayed and both men put on a great fight." Update: Date: 23:17 BST 7 June Title: Simpson stops Zucco in Oakwell Content: If you're wondering what happened in the other fight tonight, well it was also a cracker! Callum Simpson was knocked down TWICE by Ivan Zucco before pulling off a last-gasp knockout in the tenth round. These football ground fights, eh? Update: Date: 23:16 BST 7 June Title: Post Content: Wardley beats Huni by knockout That was boxing at it's finest, wasn't it? Fabio Wardley was miles behind on the cards and then pulls out the punch of his life. Update: Date: 23:14 BST 7 June Title: Get Involved Content: #bbcboxing, via WhatsApp on 03301231826 or text 81111 (UK only, standard message rates apply) Absolute detonation!!! Unbelievable shot. Though he has to shore up those defences because any top Heavyweight will knock him down long before he gets a chance. He won't get the time he got tonight. But a totally unreal ending! Will MK Update: Date: 23:12 BST 7 June Title: 'I know how to win fights' Content: Wardley beats Huni by knockout Fabio Wardley speaking to DAZN: "Before we say anything, I just want to say a huge thank you to everyone in this building tonight. I've been on this weird and wonderful journey in boxing and I wouldn't be here without you. This isn't just for me, it's for all of you. "I don't profess to being any (Oleksandr) 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. "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." Update: Date: 23:11 BST 7 June Title: Post Content: Wardley beats Huni by knockout What's next for Fabio Wardley then? A world title shot? I'm sure we'd all love to see that. Update: Date: 23:10 BST 7 June Title: Post Content: Wardley beats Huni by knockout Darren BarkerFormer world middleweight champion on DAZN The name of Fabio Wardley grows around Ipswich now, he is a star. Update: Date: 23:08 BST 7 June Title: Get Involved Content: #bbcboxing, via WhatsApp on 03301231826 or text 81111 (UK only, standard message rates apply) Unbelievable!! Fabio 'Rocky' Wardley!!!!!! Adam - keep believing & never give up Update: Date: 23:07 BST 7 June Title: Post Content: Wardley beats Huni by knockout Update: Date: 23:06 BST 7 June Title: Post Content: Wardley beats Huni by knockout Boos for Huni at the start have now turned to cheers. That tells you everything you need to know about Huni's performance. Update: Date: 23:04 BST 7 June Title: Post Content: Wardley beats Huni by knockout Credit to Huni for taking the fight on short notice and putting on a real show at Portman Road but no one could've stood up to that kind of power. Wow. Update: Date: 23:03 BST 7 June Title: Post Content: Wardley beats Huni by knockout Wardley and Huni embrace as Ed Sheeran is playing (obviously) but let's hear from Wardley. We'll have full quotes coming your way very soon. Update: Date: 23:02 BST 7 June Title: Post Content: Wardley beats Huni by knockout Barry JonesFormer world champion on DAZN Fabio Wardley was getting totally outboxed, but in one punch it is over. That is what makes a legend. Update: Date: 23:01 BST 7 June Title: Post Content: Wardley beats Huni by knockout Still can't believe what I've just seen. Boxing is incredible. Update: Date: 23:00 BST 7 June Title: Post Content: Wardley beats Huni by knockout Huni came in with the right and BANG, Wardley lands an absolute monster of a right hand on the button. That is what Wardley does!
