Australian heavyweight Justis Huni retools defense after Kevin Lerena scare
Heavyweight prospect Justis Huni should have been celebrating after his last win.
The 25-year-old former amateur standout from Brisbane, Australia had just claimed the biggest scalp of his career, outboxing Kevin Lerena over 10 rounds to win a unanimous decision victory on the ‘Knockout Chaos’ promotion in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on March 8.
Boxing down the card, Huni was mixing in good company. The headline bout featured former two-time heavyweight titleholder Anthony Joshua facing ex-UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou, while in the semi-main a heavyweight bout of consequence took place between Joseph Parker and Zhilei Zhang.
The spotlight was firmly on the heavyweight division, and a strong showing by Huni would have the boxing world talking about how far the 2019 World Championships bronze medalist could go in the pros.
But a strange thing happened in the last round of the Lerena fight. A counter left cross from the South African southpaw midway through the final round left Huni staggering backwards across the ring on his heels. Huni covered up, moved and smothered. And he heard the final bell.
The boxing world did start talking. About Huni’s chin. About his relative lack of power. And about his defense.
Spurred on by the criticism, Huni headed back to gym determined to improve his overall game. The six-foot-four, 240-pounds Huni has made his power a particular focus of this retooling.
In three weeks time Huni will get the chance to unveil the new and improved version of himself when he takes on Troy Pilcher (9-0-1, 7 KOs) over 10 rounds at the Fortitude Music Hall in Fortitude Valley, Brisbane on July 25.
“There has been a big change in my style, but you’ll just have to wait and see on the 25th of July. I’m look forward to put on an exciting performance,” said Huni (9-0, 4 KOs) to the media throng at the Brisbane event on Tuesday to officially announce the fight.
“This is heavyweight boxing. The fans, the people, they want to see knockouts. So I’m looking to change my style and bring a lot more excitement to what I already bring… He’s going to come to knock me out and I’m going to come to knock him out. This is the game.”
It has not just been his power that Huni has been working on, but also shoring up his defense while pressing forward on the attack. Think of a young Mike Tyson.
“I’ve done a lot of work on my defense,” Huni admitted. “This new style, it’s going to be very exciting. I’ve worked on all of those things. I got hit in the last round of my last fight and I don’t want to go through that again, so defense has been a big thing that we’ve been working on.”
Asked why he felt the need to change what was already an effective style, Huni said he wants to put more bums on seats and that early finishes are the best way to do that.
“I just want to bring more excitement to my fight game,” said Huni, who hopes to boxes twice more this year after the Pilcher bout. “I want to start knocking guys out. Like I said, this is heavyweight boxing. I’m not going to stop anybody boxing off the backfoot. I’ve done a lot of work and it’s coming along nicely.”
New Zealand-born Pilcher, who fights out of the Gold Coast in Queensland, would seem to be the perfect type of opponent to test out his new style on. The big-punching Pilcher is taking a step up in class and apart from his eight-round draw against Haze Hepi two years ago, he has never boxed beyond six. This will be his first bout scheduled for 10 rounds.
“I’m grateful to Troy and his team for agreeing to this fight,” said Huni, who is returning to the same venue where he won the Australian heavyweight title in his professional debut four years ago.
“It’s not an easy fight. Every fight I go into is a tough fight. I’m not looking past my opponent. I’m just looking forward to being back here and performing in front of a home crowd.
“I don’t think I have crossed paths with him before, but I’ll do my study on him. I do know he’s got a good gas tank, a good right hand, but I’ll be prepared for whatever he’s got to bring, just like any other fight that I’ve been in before.”
Pilcher himself admits that he has never faced anyone with the class of Huni.
“For me, this is what all this hard work is for. I’ve had a couple of average fights and I’ve taken lots of tough ones as well. This is the next couple of steps up,” Pilcher said.
“This is a massive opportunity, not just for myself but for my sponsors, my coach, my family, all of us. So now I get to showcase those skills I have and prove that I belong up here with the top boys.”
The Huni versus Pilcher fight will top a tasty looking six-fight bill that will also include Australian light heavyweight champion Lucas Miller (12-6-2, 4 KOs) facing off against former amateur star Clay Waterman (12-1, 9 KOs) over 10 frames in the co-feature. The card will be broadcast live on DAZN.
“We are thrilled to bring such a high-stakes fight to Brisbane and doing it with Matchroom Boxing and Gold Star Promotions is groundbreaking for Australian boxing,” said Mick Francis of Tasman Fighters.
“Justis Huni’s return marks a significant moment for Australian boxing and with Troy Pilcher stepping into the ring, fans can expect nothing short of an unforgettable night.”
Huni has been moved through the pro ranks quickly so far, so perhaps a slight step back in opposition like this will benefit his professional development. Every fight right now is a learning experience, and the Lerena scrap was no exception.
“Just to push through, to stay up. That’s what makes you better,” Huni said of his key takeaways from that bout four months ago.
“There was one thing going through my head when I got hit. It was that saying from that Rocky movie: ‘It’s not about how hard you get hit, it’s about how much you can take and keep moving forward’.
“So I took that punch and I kept going to the end.”
The post Australian heavyweight Justis Huni retools defense after Kevin Lerena scare appeared first on The Ring.