Fabio Wardley had a miserable time with Justis Huni, but proved that his power stays late into a fight, scoring a one-punch knockout in the 10th round to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.
You could argue that Huni (12-1, 7 KO) had won all of the first nine rounds, and the Australian amateur standout looked in full control of the fight, working with confidence while Wardley (19-0-1, 18 KO) seemed to have faded out of the fight.
But like the miracle run the Indiana Pacers have put together in this year’s NBA postseason, Wardley found the magic, landing a single, perfectly-placed right hand on a firing Huni, dropping the Aussie and securing the knockout win.
“I don’t profess to be any kind of Usyk, Justis Huni, someone with all the skills, but one thing I do know how to do is win fights — dig deep, find a bit of heart, bite down on that gum shield and find a way to win,” Wardley said. “I should have performed better in some of them rounds, but that’s not always the way it goes. Sometimes you just have to find a way to win.”
“That’s my curse. I said before this fight, it only takes one split second to switch off, and it happened tonight,” Huni said. “Credit to Fabio and his team. He’s a real champion. Get behind him, he’s doing good things. He’s just an awesome fighter, man. Never gave up and he got the win tonight and he deserves it.”
The win gives Wardley the interim WBA heavyweight title.
