Latest news with #FabioWardley
The Sun
08-06-2025
- Sport
- The Sun
Justis Huni's incredible dressing room reaction just moments after Fabio Wardley's comeback KO
JUSTIS HUNI was praised for his incredible reaction just moments after being knocked out by Fabio Wardley. The Aussie took the bout on just five weeks notice after controversial American Jarrell Miller pulled out injured. And Huni was on the way to well and truly ruining Wardley's Ipswich homecoming after racking up a lead ten rounds into the bout. But just as all hope looked to be lost for the hometown hero - Wardley produced a Hail Mary right hand to turn the fight on its head. Huni was gracious in defeat - as revealed by amazing backstage dressing room footage captured by Matchroom Boxing. Hugging a family member, the beaten heavyweight said: "S*** happens, you know. I will come back, just bounce back. "We just keep our head up and bounce back. It is what it is. Head up team, head up! We bounce back, it's boxing." Fans hailed humble Huni in the comments as one said: "Class act this chap very respectful throughout." Another added: "Gained a lot of supporters - not just by the way be boxed, but also the way he conducted himself afterward. Big respect." A third said: "Lovely guy, he'll be back." 3 Huni, 26, was ahead on all the scorecards having thrown and landed more shots throughout. But the punch that mattered the most was the massive right hand from Wardley, 30, that closed the show in dramatic fashion. Callum Simpson credits late sister for inspiring comeback Ivan Zucco KO after being dropped eight seconds into fight The former recruitment consultant-turned-white collar boxer remained unbeaten and won himself the WBA interim title. Wardley said: "I don't profess to be any kind of Usyk or Justis Huni - someone with all the skills. "But one thing I do know is how to win fights, dig deep, find a bit of heart, bite down on the gumshield, find a way to win. "That's one thing I had to do tonight. I should have performed better in some of the rounds. "It's not always the way it goes. Sometimes you just need to find a different way to win. So look, we pulled something out of the bag." 3
Daily Mail
08-06-2025
- Sport
- Daily Mail
Aussie boxer's furious manager is set to lodge formal complaint with the WBA following shock KO defeat by Fabio Wardley
Fabio Wardley produced a sensational right hand to send Australian boxer Justis Huni crashing to the canvas on Saturday night in front of 20,000 fans at Portman Road. The 26-year-old Queenslander had been in control for much of the fight, and was ahead on the judges' scorecards, but appeared to over-stretch his right arm during the 10th round, allowing Wardley to snipe a huge right-hand hook across the temple of his opponent. The blow sent him crashing to the ground and ended his unbeaten fight streak, with Wardley securing the win and a potential shot at the winner of Daniel Dubois ' fight with Oleksandr Usyk. However, Fox Sports Australia are reporting Huni's team are furious at the result. They claim English referee John Latham had not given the Aussie fighter a proper 10 count. Mr Lathan had appeared to stoop down to Huni who lay with his back to the floor and began to issue the count. However, he then called the fight before he reached 10 seconds. Huni's manager, Mick Francis, vented his frustrations after the bout and revealed he had even voiced his complaints to Eddie Hearnm, adding he'd be issuing a complaint to the WBA immediately. He told the Matchroom promoter: 'You haven't heard the last of this.' He added: 'He just waved it off. 'I'm lodging a protest with the WBA. 'I've already spoken to Eddie Hearn and Spencer (Brown) and they agreed. 'It's a f***ing world title, not some fight in the park. 'And they didn't give Justis Huni the correct opportunity.' He noted that while Huni had been hit by a good shot in the 10th round, he believed he hadn't been given a fair chance to continue. 'Justis wasn't wobbly when he got to his feet. 'Yes, he got hit with a good shot. 'And if he'd had enough, fair enough. 'But Justis was putting on a boxing clinic. 'They were looking for any opportunity to give this fight to Wardley.' Despite the loss, Huni had produced an excellent performance to keep Wardley quiet for most of the fight, which he had only accepted five weeks ago. Scorecards had shown that the Australian was up 89-82 on two of the judges' scorecards, while the third had given him the fight 88-83 after 10 rounds. However, Huni wasn't letting the brutal punch get to him after the fight. The Aussie star, whose record now drops to 12-1 following his first defeat, managed to give fans a smile and shrugged off the loss, saying: 'That's my curse. 'I even said before this fight that it only takes one split second to switch off,' Huni said. 'And it happened tonight. 'Credit to Fabio and his team, I'm grateful for the opportunity. 'He's a real champion. 'Get behind him because he's doing good things.' The humble Australian added: 'He's just an awesome fighter man. 'He never gave up and he got the win tonight. Credit to Fabio.' Wardley also admitted he had struggled across some of the early rounds. 'Look, Justis Huni is a great operator,' he said 'But no matter what, I'm going to be aggravated with myself because we'd been through everything over and over again – knew the game down to a 't' – and I should've gone better in some of those rounds. 'But that's how it goes.
The Sun
08-06-2025
- Sport
- The Sun
Fabio Wardley vs Justis Huni punch stats revealed with Aussie landing almost three times more power blows before KO loss
FABIO WARDLEY snatched victory from the jaws of defeat against Justis Huni. The 30-year-old produced a stunning tenth-round KO to retain his unbeaten tag. 4 4 4 4 Wardley went into Saturday's bout as the overwhelming favourite to take the vacant interim WBA title. The heavyweight star was fighting infront of his hometown crowd in Ipswich, with Huni a late replacement for Jarrell Miller. But it was the Aussie who dominated the bout from the off at a rain-sodden Portman Road. The punch stats reveal Huni threw 342 punches across the 10 rounds. Wardley responded with 330 of his own - but landed just 117 to Huni's 159. The starkest stat came with the power punches, as Huni let rip with 114 heavy shots across the contest. Wardley could only muster 49 of his own in response. The Brit could also out-punch Huni in TWO rounds of the contest. Huni's dominance had him leading comfortably with all three judges going into the 10th round. But Wardley produced a mammoth right hand to KO the Aussie just when it mattered most. Fabio Wardley faces off with Justis Huni ahead of his homecoming fight Wardley's win puts him in line for a shot at the winner of Oleksandr Usyk and Daniel Dubois' unification bout next month. Following Saturday's win - his 18th KO victory in 19 fights - The Barista admitted it had been a close call. He said: "I don't profess to be any kind of Usyk or Justis Huni... someone with all the skills. "But one thing I do know is how to win fights, dig deep, find a bit of heart, bite down on the gumshield, find a way to win. "That's one thing I had to do tonight. "I should have performed better in some of the rounds. "It's not always the way it goes. Sometimes you just need to find a different way to win. "So look, we pulled something out of the bag."
The Sun
08-06-2025
- Sport
- The Sun
Fabio Wardley vs Justis Huni scorecards revealed with Brit on course for crushing defeat before one-punch KO
FABIO WARDLEY was facing defeat in the face against Justis Huni - before one punch turned the tide. The Brit looked in real trouble during Saturday's WBA interim heavyweight clash in Ipswich. 4 4 4 4 Fighting on home turf, Wardley was the heavy favourite going into the bout. But Huni dominated from the off, taking control infront of a 20,000-strong crowd at a soggy Portman Road. The Aussie was miles ahead on the cards as the fight entered the championship rounds. From nowhere, Wardley delivered a towering right hand early in the 10th to seal a remarkable victory. The judge's scorecards made grim reading for the 6ft5 heavyweight prior to his stunning KO. Wardley was down on all three cards, with two of the judges giving him just ONE round. One fan gasped on X: "He was down bad too wow." Another said: "I didn't give Wardley a round. The 1st round was close but I thought Huni nicked it with cleaner punches." While a third added: "These were very accurate scorecards in a hometown fight for once." Wardley's promoter Frank Warren described the knockout punch as a "Deontay Wilder moment". Fabio Wardley faces off with Justis Huni ahead of his homecoming fight The win propels Wardley into world title consideration. It was his 18th knockout in 19 professional wins. He said: "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." Huni replaced American Jarrell Miller on short notice. The Australian suffered his first professional defeat after 12 consecutive wins. Referencing the big KO punch, he said: "That's my curse. "I even said before this fight it only takes one second to switch off, it happened tonight."
BreakingNews.ie
08-06-2025
- Sport
- BreakingNews.ie
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. Advertisement 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. Advertisement Justis Huni lies on the canvas. Photo: Steven Paston/PA. 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.
