Boxing news: Justis Huni to fight Jai Opetaia for shot at Tyson Fury, Anthony Joshua
Boxing promoter Dean Lonergan plans 2023 elimination bout between Justis Huni and Jai Opetaia to take on world heavyweight champion.
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An audacious plan to have Justis Huni or Jai Opetaia fight for the heavyweight championship of the world against the likes of Tyson Fury in Australia has been revealed to government officials.
The two-year plan will build a fierce rivalry between NSW’s Opetaia and Queensland’s Huni, and potentially culminate in one of the biggest boxing events ever held in Australia by the end of 2023.
And the first step of the scheme will be a world title fight between Opetaia and IBF cruiserweight champion Mairis Briedis next March in Australia.
The idea is that Opetaia will become a cruiserweight world champion, attempt to unify the division and then step up to heavyweight, where Huni plans to be ranked among the top five by 2023.
Boxing promoter Dean Lonergan wants Huni and Opetaia to fight against each other in July 2023, with the winner then targeting major bouts against superstars Deontay Wilder, Oleksandr Usyk, Anthony Joshua and Fury.
“It comes down to the money, and so long as you’re not bidding against Saudi Arabia you’ve got an opportunity to do it,” said Lonergan, director of D & L Events, who promote both Opetaia and Huni.
“A lot of people scoffed and didn’t think for one second we could ever do a world heavyweight title fight in New Zealand; that happened with Joseph Parker and Andy Ruiz under my watch because I did that deal with Bob Arum.
“And everybody laughed at me saying Manny Pacquiao would never come to Australia, and it turned out to be one of our all-time great sporting events.
“If you don’t aspire to do great things, what the hell are you doing in the game?
“We have a plan that will get us there, it’s not fantasy.
“If you’re going to be in this game you need to be shooting for the top, and we’ve got guys in Australia talented enough to do the plan.
“The first part of the plan is March 23 or 30, getting Mairis Briedis to fight Jai Opetaia, and you’ll probably see Justis Huni as the co-main feature on there, which is a big deal because you’ve got the country’s hottest heavyweight and hottest cruiserweight building a rivalry as two guys from different states.”
Briedis (28-1, 20KO) will be favourite to defend his title – his only loss was a majority decision to new heavyweight champion Usyk – but his team have all but agreed to travel to Australia next March.
Opetaia (20-0, 16KO) takes on Daniel Russell in a tune-up fight in Brisbane on December 4, and it will be the first bout he’s had since fixing fractures in his left hand.
Lonergan said he would build the Huni-Opetaia rivalry into one that will rival Anthony Mundine vs Danny Green, but ensure they fight multiple times in quick succession to capitalise on revenue.
Lonergan is looking to gauge interest from state officials and is confident his plan will come to fruition.
“If you look at Joseph Parker, an excellent boxer who managed to go all the way through the heavyweights to get to world champion – and I’ve been told by a number of people including the one I respect most, Stuart Duncan – that Justis Huni is a better talent than Joseph Parker,” Lonergan said.
“Justis is far more progressed compared to the guys Joe was fighting at the same time. So that gives me great confidence.
“Then you turn around and look what we did with Jeff Horn, he was not on an accelerated path but he fought Manny Pacquiao, one of the greatest fighters in history, and Horn managed to do it with guts and grind and mental toughness.
“Well Justis Huni (5-0, 4KO) and Jai Opetaia have already shown they’ve got that. For six years Jai had a broken hand, and he gets to No. 3 in the world. Never once did he complain to me about this broken hand.
“The only time I became aware of it was when I turned up to a sparring session, he kept hitting this bloke on the head and his hand was swollen up afterwards and he only spoke about it after then – that tells me of his incredible mental toughness.”
NO ROOM FOR FAILURE: HUNI BOUT IS NO ORDINARY FIGHT
By: Brent Read
Justis Huni will make his return from hand surgery against fellow undefeated heavyweight Joseph Goodall in a bout that is set to fast-track the winner into the top 15 of two major sanctioning organisations.
Huni hasn’t fought since damaging his hand in his stoppage victory over Paul Gallen, an injury that forced him to sit out the Tokyo Olympics and stalled his climb through the professional ranks.
However, his comeback to the ring will be confirmed on Thursday as he lines up a date with the unbeaten Goodall on February 4 in Brisbane.
As long as things go to plan, it will be the first of seven fights Huni has planned for next year as his camp set the ambitious goal of remaining undefeated and finishing 2022 in the top five in the world.
“Yeah, man, I am back,” Huni said.
“My hand is good to go. I am having my first spar back on Saturday. It has been 12 weeks now (since surgery) and I am excited to get back into the groove of things.
“The hand feels normal, nothing wrong with it. So I am keen to go again. Words can’t describe how much I can’t wait to get back in the ring.
“It has been way too long. The lead-up to a big fight, there is no other thing like it. That is what I miss.”
Goodall won a silver medal at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow and is now based in Las Vegas, where he works with Kevin Barry.
Barry is one of the most respected trainers in the world, having guided the careers of fellow New Zealanders David Tua and Joseph Parker.
“This is a fight where somebody’s ‘0’ has got to go,” Huni’s promoter Dean Lonergan said.
“Joe Goodall is undefeated as a professional, as is Justis Huni. What is super significant is that the IBF have put up the Pan-Pacific regional belt and the WBO have put up the oriental regional belt.
“What is significant about that is the winner of this fight — and it is very, very rare that this happens — the winner will go into the top 15 in both organisations.
“The key to this game is to get yourself a regional belt and defend it, defend it, defend it. There is no voodoo to this. As soon as you are top 15 you are eligible to fight for a world title.
“If we fight seven times next year, which is what we want to do, I would be very surprised if we weren’t close to top five at the end of next year.
“Australia is about to go on a sporting journey it has never experienced before because at the end of the day we’re trying to fight some of the most famous men in the world, and that is for enormous amounts of money.”
Huni has vowed to leave no stone unturned as he begins his preparations for Goodall — he insists he will train religiously from now until February, including Christmas Day.
Huni knows he can ill-afford to take Goodall lightly. While the pair never opposed each other in the ring as amateurs, Huni is well aware of Goodall’s career and his capabilities.
The result of their February fight has the potential to be life-changing for the winner.
“It is going to be a big fight,” Huni said.
“We missed each other in the amateurs. While I was coming up — I think I was 15 — that was when he was starting to peak in the amateurs.
“That is what makes this fight so much more exciting — we both have very good amateur backgrounds. Joe is a good boxer, but respectfully I believe I am a better boxer and I have what it takes to beat him.
“There is a lot on the line in this fight. I have just started camp. I have had my time off when I went though the operation my hand and the recovery and hopefully everything will go well next year.”
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