IPSWICH, England – Fabio Wardley sensationally came from behind to stop Australia’s Justis Huni on the occasion of his homecoming fight.
Wardley was being beaten up by Huni, who had come in as a late replacement for Jarrell Miller, who had withdrawn from the original contest with an injured shoulder. Wardley seemed lost for ideas and in a bad way from the punishment that Huni had inflicted on him over 10 rounds, but he produced a fight-changing punch when he needed it most.
The 30-year-old Wardley had said that Huni, a standout amateur, had to be perfect for 12 rounds, and that he only needed to be perfect for a second, and he was proved right. The travelling Australian outclassed him to the extent they looked levels apart, but he switched off when coming in to land another telling blow, left himself wide open, and allowed Wardley to find a powerful right hand that ensured he moved to 19-0-1 (18 KOs) 102 seconds into the 10th round.
“I don't profess to be any kind of [Oleksandr] Usyk with those kinds of skills – what I do know is how to win fights,” the heavyweight then said, post-fight. “Sometimes you need to find a way to win. I pulled it out the bag.”
“It only takes one split second to switch off and it happened,” said Huni, 12-1 (7 KOs), after suffering his first defeat. “Credit to Fabio and his team – he’s a great champion. He’s just an awesome fighter and he never gave up.”
Huni’s fast hands were on display from the first, when he fired in two shots to the body and quickly threw a right hand over the top that caught Wardley off-guard. Wardley evidently had the heavier hands of the two and thumped in a couple of body shots early into the second. Huni, 26, responded by whipping in a left hook to the head that also got Wardley’s respect.
Wardley fired a jab back at Huni but he just couldn’t live with the Australian’s hand speed. Huni then pinned Wardley against the ropes and unloaded a barrage of shots, when a left hook particularly caught the eye.
The Englishman seemed to hurt his opponent in the third with a right hand off the ropes. The Australian’s legs seemed to wobble, but again he came firing back.
Huni responded with a strong fourth. He pinned Wardley into the corner and worked away at him. Wardley struggled to defend himself and attempted to fire in sharp jabs while on the backfoot but did so with limited success. Huni targeted the body in the fifth and seemed to hurt Wardley several times. First a right hand to the body caught the home favorite keel, and Huni followed landing it with a left that then made Wardley wince in pain.
Wardley needed something big to transform the momentum of their contest, and as the sixth session began it seemed as though the late replacement Huni may have been feeling the pace. Wardley fired in his jab, but he was unable to produce anything substantial after it. As the sixth round drew to a close, Huni then sprang into life and landed a hard right that pushed Wardley back into the ropes. The bell sounded and Wardley looked as though he had run out of ideas.
He continued to unravel in the seventh, when it seemed as though Huni couldn’t miss with his right hand. He teed off on Wardley and made Wardley look worse and worse. Another right landed over Wardley's low left hand and sent him back into the ropes, shortly before the bell rang again. It may have been Huni who had taken the contest on short notice but increasingly it was Wardley who was feeling the pace in the eighth. Huni again thumped away at Wardley’s body, and every punch thrown continued to take its toll.
Wardley’s face was bloodied and bruised when he came out for the ninth, and his punches lacked the power that has defined his career. Huni again convincingly outboxed him and to the extent it looked only a matter of time before Wardley was rescued.
As the 10th round began it Wardley required a near-miracle to leave Portman Road, the stadium of his local soccer club Ipswich Town, with a dream victory in front of his home supporters. Huni then came steaming in to land, and Wardley threw an overhand right out of desperation. The punch landed on Huni’s chin and rippled down his body in an instant. He crashed down to the canvas, tried to get up but was too late – the referee John Lathem’s count reached 10 before he could return to his feet. The timing of the stoppage was confirmed at 102 seconds of round 10.