Australia’s Justis Huni has claimed an impressive victory via unanimous decision (100-90, 98-92 x 2) in his overseas boxing debut on Sunday (AEDT).
The 24-year-old was considered the next big thing in Australian heavyweight boxing after he defeated Paul Gallen in 2021, but he has struggled to get in the ring since then.
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In his first fight since beating Kiki Leutele a year ago, Huni took on experienced heavyweight Andrew Tabiti (20-1) in Mexico — a tough test in just his eighth professional fight.
Huni came out firing as he traded blows with Tabiti in the early stages of an entertaining heavyweight bout.
But the Aussie quickly took the upper hand in early and middle rounds, pinning Tabiti against the ropes and pummelling his opponent with heavy body shots and strong combinations.
Active from the first round, Huni showed impressive stamina to maintain the high tempo throughout the full 10 rounds and absorbed a few strong blows from Tabiti, who rallied in the eighth round.
The result takes Huni’s record to 8-0 (4 KOs) and sees him secure the WBA international heavyweight belt.
It was a welcome comeback performance for Huni, who at his best has the potential to be one of Australia’s best boxers along with cruiserweight world champion Jai Opetaia and Tim Tszyu.
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Huni had been on track to win Olympic gold in Tokyo, but a nasty hand injury sustained in the fight against Gallen cruelled his hopes of competing at the Games with the likes of Harry Garside, Paulo Aokuso and Skye Nicolson.
The Queenslander has had his fair share of setbacks in recent years, including when his home was the target of a drive-by shooting in June last year.
This victory over Tabiti was just his third fight after the win over Gallen following victories against Joe Goodall and Leutele.
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