Aussie boxing wonder Justis Huli set to put talent to test as bouts lined up against Arsene Fosso and Alex Leapai
After impressing in his professional debut on Thursday night, Justis Huli is set to put his talent to the test against two Aussie-based heavyweight stars before a tilt at gold at the Tokyo Olympics.
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Australia’s latest boxing sensation Justis Huni has already locked in his fight plan with the new heavyweight champion to take on Cameroon monster Arsene Fosso and Alex Leapai in his next three bouts.
News Corp can reveal Huni will confront 110kg Cameroon refugee Fosso on December 3 at Brisbane’s Fortitude Music Hall, the very venue in which he clobbered Faiga Opelu on Thursday night to win the domestic title in his professional debut.
The 37-year-old Fosso won bronze at the 2017 amateur world championships and is unbeaten in three professional fights.
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The 190cm hulk made headlines two years ago when he fled after the 2018 Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast amid fears he would be executed by the Cameroon government for supporting gay and lesbian friends.
Fosso is currently based in Canberra and is keen to rain on the parade of much-hyped Huni, who underlined his world-title potential with a brutal seventh-round destruction of ‘Django’ Opelu to become Australia’s new heavyweight king.
But Huni won’t stop at Fosso, with the 21-year-old Queenslander in talks to fight former world-title challenger ‘Lionheart’ Leapai in Brisbane next year as a preamble to his bid for gold at the Tokyo Olympics.
Huni’s promoter Dean Lonergan has confirmed a trilogy of bouts have been scheduled for the 108kg young gun, who will also face Herman Ene-Purcell (17-8, 9KO) between bouts with Fosso and Leapai (32-8-4, 26KO).
“We have this kid on a fast track and Justis can go all the way to the top,” Lonergan said.
“Justis’ next fight will be against Arsene, then we go to Toowoomba to fight Purcell and then we will come back to Brisbane to fight Alex Leapai.
“Arsene is a monster of a man. He’s had more than 100 amateur fights, he is six foot four and 110kg of muscle.
“He is a man mountain so this won’t be an easy fight for Justis.
“Arsene said last week he wants to fight for the Australian title, before Justis beat Django, so now here is his chance.
“It is going to be a cracker of a fight.”
Leapai famously fought for the heavyweight world title in Germany in 2014, only to be stopped in the fifth-round by Ukraine icon Wladimir Klitschko.
Now 41, Leapai was at ringside with his trainer Noel Thornberry to watch Huni’s demolition of Opelu and is adamant he can knock out Huni.
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“Alex was at the fight and he has no doubt he can beat Justis,” Lonergan said.
“We are in talks at the moment and we are aiming for a fight sometime next May.
“Alex will be a massive test for Justis. His last fight was against Joseph Parker (in June 2019) and Parker won by TKO, but Alex lasted 10 rounds because he was so bloody tough.
“This will be another blockbuster event.”
In the wake of his Australian heavyweight win, Huni said he had only scratched the surface of his talent.
“This is only the beginning and you will be seeing a lot more of me,” he said.
“I will fight again this year and stay as active as possible going into the Olympics next year.
“That was only a little bit of my skills, I have a lot more to show the world.”
Originally published as Aussie boxing wonder Justis Huli set to put talent to test as bouts lined up against Arsene Fosso and Alex Leapai