Former rugby league star Paul Gallen 11-0-1 (6) won’t last five rounds with Justis Huni 3-0 (3) according to the Australian heavyweight champion’s father and trainer Rocki Huni.
The 22-year-old Huni, who will compete in the super heavyweight division at the Tokyo Olympics, will face the unbeaten Gallen at the ICC Exhibition Centre in Sydney on June 16.
The fight will come just three weeks after Huni defends his national crown for the second time against Christian Ndzie Tsoye 5-3-2 (4).
Gallen, 39, is coming off a first round blowout of former WBA ‘regular’ titleholder Lucas ‘Big Daddy’ Browne 29-3 (25) in Wollongong last month.
Rocki Huni is predicting an early night for his son.
“It’s highly unlikely he will be there for the 10th round,” he said to the Sydney Morning Herald.
“I think he will get to the stage where he will get stopped or he’s just taken too much punishment and the referee will turn around and say ‘stop it’ on him.
“I honestly don’t see it going past the fifth round.
“In saying that, Gallen is an athlete, I give him props for that. He is a legend in his sport, but this is boxing, not football.”
The fight will be for the vacant IBF Pan Pacific title with the winner guaranteed a top 15 world ranking.
“I am thrilled to have the fight sanctioned for the IBF Pan Pacific title,” promoter Dean Lonergan said to the Courier Mail.
“If I was Paul Gallen, I would be starting to get very frightened. No amount of money will cover for the fear and anxiety Paul will feel when he knows he is about to get the hiding of his life. At that stage, Paul will question his sanity in fighting Justis.
“Nothing will stop the beating he is about to get and the only question is how long Paul is prepared to survive in there to get a beating as Justis moves a step closer to his shot at a world title.”
Huni turned professional last October winning the Australian title against Faiga Opelu on debut. His busy schedule has been designed to keep him in form for the Tokyo Olympics commencing in the last week of July.
“That’s how it’s going to be at the Olympics,” Justis Huni said to the Sydney Morning Herald. “You get two weeks of competition and you get six fights. You have fast turnarounds, you fight someone one day and then you’re fighting someone else the next day as you progress through the tournament.”
Huni will be looking to become the first boxer to stop Tsoye when they meet on May 26.
“He comes forward, similar to what Gallen is going to bring,” Huni said of Tsoye.
“He’s got heavy hands. I’ve just got to stay long and box, do what I’ve been training to do.”