SUBSTITUTE JUSTIS HUNI READY TO SPOIL THE IPSWICH PARTY WITH FABIO WARDLEY VICTORY
Justis Huni sits in one of the racing-style bucket seats in the Ipswich Town dug-out and surveys Portman Road as if he was about to make a tactical change in a home fixture against Leicester City.
“It’s nice, this place,” he tells The Ring while scanning the pitch in the spring sunshine. “I feel like it’s important that I got here and got a feel for it before fight night.”
A few weeks ago, the 26-year-old from Queensland, Australia, had never even heard of Ipswich, the largest town in the county of Suffolk, much less its football team but he did know the name Fabio Wardley.
He knew, therefore, what beating the undefeated puncher from this neck of the woods on June 7 could do for his career and it felt like a risk worth taking. No matter that he did so on only a few weeks' notice following the withdrawal of the injured Jarrell Miller, or that he will have to attempt to beat Wardley here at Portman Road, which is very much the 30-year-old’s own backyard.
“I just feel like it’s meant to be right now,” Huni adds. “I’m No.1 in the WBO, he’s No.1 in the WBA so I think our paths were going to cross at some point anyway so this feels like the perfect time.
“This is his homecoming fight but this is also my coming out party. It’s massive for both of us and we are both looking to take the win home but I know deep down I’m about to cause a huge upset here in his hometown.
“As soon as we got the call I just said ‘let’s go’. I put my head down and got to work, really dug deep for five weeks and do my job.
“It was an easy decision for me. If I didn’t take this fight I would never know when another opportunity like this would come around. I could have been sitting around fighting in Australia for who knows how long before another chance.”
It has taken the 26-year-old just 12 professional fights to reach that No.1 spot with the WBO, while the WBA currently also have him within their top 10. It was clear that he was going to be matched hard and moved early from the off, with the 13-1-1 Australian heavyweight champion Faiga Opelu brought in for his debut, which was scheduled for 10. Huni, just 21, won inside seven.
He has barely put a foot wrong since, with nine further 10 rounders during his run to 12-0, 7 KOs. And, although he is four years’ Wardley’s junior and has had seven fewer fights on paper, he has actually had 16 more professional rounds than his opponent.
In fact, when it comes to boxing experience, Huni and Wardley are night and day. Much was made of Wardley’s lack of pedigree during his two-fight series with Frazer Clarke, a long-time amateur boxer who spent years in the GB Boxing set up and eventually competed at the Olympics. But in Huni, former white collar man Wardley is up against someone who can barely remember a life before boxing.
“When I was still crawling I was in the boxing gym watching my dad and older brother,” he recalls. “My dad used to train him so it was natural that I followed as soon as I could walk really.
“I actually had my first fight when I was seven but in Australia you’re not allowed to box until you’re 10 so I was doing it under the radar and faking my age.
“So I had my first official fight on my 10th birthday. I’ll never forget it, it was like my little birthday present. Thankfully I won so it didn’t ruin my day.”
In contrast, Wardley was a latecomer to boxing and famously never spent any time as an amateur, instead cutting his teeth during a short stint on the white collar circuit before turning professional in 2017. In boxing terms, their backgrounds could not be more different.
“Look,” Huni says. “Credit where credit is due, he’s done all the hard fights as a professional and overcome all those challenges. I could sit here and go back and forth about how I’ve had all this amateur experience and he hasn’t, but he’s proved himself in the pros.
“The debate could go on forever but luckily there is one way of settling it and that’s in the ring on June 7.”
A few weeks before Huni’s arrival at Portman Road for the launch press conference, Miller had sat in the exact same seat, ranting and raving about what he was going to do to Wardley. The pair were even separated by security as Miller slapped his opponent round the face.
Late-substitute Huni is far quieter but will still assume his role as the villain of the piece on the night at the home of Ipswich Town FC. He smiles at the suggestion.
“I’m not really into soccer - or football - at all so I don’t know anything about them,” he says. “A few of my mates are and they know Ipswich and said they had just been relegated.
“That means me turning up will be a double disappointment for them. It’s going to be massive, man. I’m looking forward to it.
“I’m just here to embrace it all, take it all in. I won’t let a crowd change the way I come out here and do my job. I’ve been in this sport for too long to let other people get to me or let a crowd booing me take over how I perform.
“I’m going to stay focused, tunnel vision, stick to the job in hand and bring home the win.”
