Promoter Eddie Hearn wants to see how undefeated heavyweight prospect Justis Huni 9-0 (4) matches up with the giants of the division.
The 24-year-old Australian was featured on the massive ‘Knockout Chaos’ card from Saudi Arabia last weekend when he was matched with South African southpaw Kevin Lerena 30-3 (14).
Huni won the 10-round fight by unanimous decision by scores of 96-94, 98-92 and 96-94 but not before being badly rocked in the final round.
It was Huni’s second fight under the Matchroom Boxing banner following his wide points win over former cruiserweight world title challenger Andrew Tabiti 20-2 (16) in Mexico last October.
“When you think about it, are we moving him a little bit too quickly?” Hearn said on the Matchroom Boxing YouTube channel. “His eighth fight was against Andrew Tabiti, which was a tough fight in Mexico, former world title challenger. And the second fight, the ninth fight, was against Kevin Lerena – who’s a former world champion at cruiserweight.
“But they want to move him quick and he has got a fantastic amateur pedigree as well. He has to improve off the back of that performance – it was a good win, obviously got hurt badly in the last round.
“I want to see Justis fight bigger heavyweights, because at the moment he’s fighting small, fast heavyweights – which is what he is. So I want to see him use his attributes against a big, strong heavyweight who is a little bit slower, whose feet might not move as fast. Because I think that’s when you’re going to see the best of Justis Huni.
“But certainly, for a ninth fight at 24 years of age, great performance.”
Hearn said he discussed the fight with Huni, who admitted he felt a little bit off on fight night.
“I like to know how the fight felt. I said to him ‘I felt you looked a little bit flat at times’ and he said ‘yeah, I felt that’. It’s a big occasion, you can’t underestimate the pressure, the platform, the stage – everything they’re seeing fight week. It’s a big big step up and so was the fight against Lerena,” Heard said.
“I said I just felt there’s a few shots he should have thrown – that I felt the same in the Tabiti fight. He’s never gonna be the biggest puncher in the division – he can punch, but he’s got great speed, great movement and that’s what is gonna be some of his biggest attributes and for that I want to see him fight a bigger heavyweight and he’s got a massive future.”
As an amateur, Huni won gold at the Yotuh World Championships in 2016 and three years later claimed bronze at the World Championships.
Huni won the Australian heavyweight title in his pro debut in October 2020.
