Justis Huni (born 4 April 1999) is an Australian professional boxer. He has held the Australian heavyweight title since 2020. As an amateur, he won a bronze medal at the 2019 World Championships.[1]
Justis Huni | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born | 4 April 1999 Meadowbrook, Queensland, Australia | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Other names | JPH, The Blind Magician | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Statistics | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight(s) | Heavyweight | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Stance | Orthodox | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Boxing record | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Total fights | 10 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Wins | 10 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Wins by KO | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Losses | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Early life
editHuni was born on 4 April 1999 in Meadowbrook,[2] a suburb of Logan City, in the metropolitan area of Brisbane, Queensland.[3] He is of Tongan, Swedish, Samoan and Dutch descent.[4] His first sporting love was rugby league where he began playing for the Souths Sunnybank Magpies as a child but gave away the sport at the age of eight to pursue a career in boxing.[5]
Amateur career
editWorld Championships result
editYekaterinburg 2019
- First round: Defeated Cristian Salcedo (Colombia) 5–0
- Second round: Defeated Nigel Paul (Trinidad and Tobago) RSC
- Quarter-finals: Defeated Mahammad Abdullayev (Azerbaijan) 5–0
- Semi-finals: Defeated by Kamshybek Kunkabayev (Kazakhstan) W/O
Professional career
editEarly career
editOn 22 October 2020, Huni made his professional debut against Australian heavyweight champion, Faiga Opelu. Huni dominated throughout the bout and in the seventh round, he secured victory after his opponent's corner threw in the towel to protect Opelu from further damage.[6]
On 3 December 2020, Huni fought for the second time as a professional against Arsene Fosso. After controlling the opening three rounds, referee Phil Austin called a halt to the fight in the fourth round after Fosso took a number of heavy blows from Huni.[7][8]
Huni had three more professional fights in the first half of 2021, knocking out Jack Maris on 10 April and defeating Christian Tsoye by unanimous decision on 26 May to retain his Australian heavyweight title. His most publicised fight took place on 16 June, when Huni entered the ring against ex-rugby league player, turned professional boxer, Paul Gallen. In what was a bruising encounter, Huni controlled the fight and overcame his 39-year-old opponent in the 10th round after knocking him to the ground. The referee declared the fight over with Huni improving his record to 5-0 while handing Gallen his first defeat.[9]
Huni was set to represent Australia at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo in the super-heavyweight division but was ruled out due to injury.[10]
On October 28, 2023 in Cancun, Mexico, Huni was scheduled to face Andrew Tabiti for the WBA International heavyweight title.[11] Huni won the fight easily.
On March 8, 2024 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Huni defeated Kevin Lerena by unanimous decision.[12]
Professional boxing record
edit| 10 fights | 10 wins | 0 losses |
|---|---|---|
| By knockout | 5 | 0 |
| By decision | 5 | 0 |
| No. | Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Round, time | Date | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | Win | 10-0 | Troy Pilcher | TKO | 2 | 25 July 2024 | Fortitude Music Hall, Brisbane, Australia | |
| 9 | Win | 9–0 | Kevin Lerena | UD | 10 | 8 Mar 2024 | Kingdom Arena, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | Won vacant WBO Global heavyweight title |
| 8 | Win | 8–0 | Andrew Tabiti | UD | 10 | 28 Oct 2023 | Poliforum Benito Juarez, Cancun, Mexico | Won vacant WBA International heavyweight title |
| 7 | Win | 7–0 | Kiki Toa Leutele | UD | 10 | 4 Nov 2022 | Nissan Arena, Brisbane, Australia | Retained IBF Pan Pacific, WBO Oriental, and OPBF heavyweight titles |
| 6 | Win | 6–0 | Joseph Goodall | UD | 10 | 15 Jun 2022 | Nissan Arena, Brisbane, Australia | Won vacant IBF Pan Pacific, WBO Oriental, and OPBF heavyweight titles |
| 5 | Win | 5–0 | Paul Gallen | TKO | 10 (10), 1:18 | 16 Jun 2021 | ICC Exhibition Centre, Sydney, Australia | Retained Australian heavyweight title |
| 4 | Win | 4–0 | Christian Ndzie Tsoye | UD | 10 | 26 May 2021 | ICC Exhibition Centre, Sydney, Australia | Retained Australian heavyweight title |
| 3 | Win | 3–0 | Jack Maris | TKO | 1 (6), 2:50 | 10 Apr 2021 | Convention and Exhibition Centre, Gold Coast, Australia | |
| 2 | Win | 2–0 | Arsene Fosso | TKO | 4 (10), 1:07 | 3 Dec 2020 | Fortitude Music Hall, Brisbane, Australia | Retained Australian heavyweight title |
| 1 | Win | 1–0 | Faiga Opelu | TKO | 7 (10), 1:21 | 22 Oct 2020 | Fortitude Music Hall, Brisbane, Australia | Won Australian heavyweight title |
References
edit- ^ "World Amateur Championship: Gold Medal Round Results". boxingscene.com. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
- ^ "Justis Huni". Proboxing. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
- ^ Peter Badel (22 October 2020). "Justis Huni wins Australian heavyweight title in professional debut as Jai Opetaia wins 20th fight in a row". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 23 October 2020.
- ^ Grantlee Kieza (6 December 2016). "Sweet as Huni as Justis takes world title". Courier Mail. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
- ^ Phil Lutton (21 September 2020). "Heavyweight Huni in deep end with pro debut". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 8 October 2020.
- ^ "Remember the name: 21yo Aussie giant makes boxing history with epic belt win on debut". foxsports.com.au. Retrieved 23 October 2020.
- ^ "Justis Huni battered Arsene Fosso in Brisbane". theaustralian.com.au. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
- ^ "Justis Huni eyes Olympic gold and a world heavyweight title after impressive win over Arsene Fosso". abc.net.au. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
- ^ "'Unnecessary punishment': Ref slammed over stoppage as Gal urged to take his $1.5m and run". Fox Sports. 16 June 2021. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
- ^ Lutton, Phil (21 September 2020). "Heavyweight Huni in deep end with pro debut". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
- ^ Iskenderov, Parviz (27 October 2023). "Justis Huni: I have the goods to go all the way & get the win against Andrew Tabiti". FIGHTMAG.
- ^ Iskenderov, Parviz (8 March 2024). "Justis Huni on top with decision against Kevin Lerena". FIGHTMAG.
External links
edit- Official website
- Boxing record for Justis Huni from BoxRec (registration required)