Paul Gallen v Justis Huni fight: How Mike Tyson inspired Aussie boxing’s rising star
Justis Huni has opened up on his rise to boxing stardom and how he was inspired by the dominance of Iron Mike Tyson.
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Mike Tyson’s terror attack on the heavyweight boxing division was long finished by the time Justis Huni laced on a glove, but the muscle fibres in the young kid in Brisbane twitched in his hands and the dream flowed into his brain.
“That’s the level I want to get to,” Huni said.
“My team, everyone knows I’m capable of it. I’ve just got to do it.”
Huni has gone on to build the most impressive amateur resume of any Australian in history — winning 30 of 31 international bouts. Unprecedented.
He transitioned to the professional ranks — Olympic aspirants are allowed 10 pro fights before returning to the amateurs — and won the Australian heavyweight title on debut. Unprecedented.
He’s now 3-0 with three knockouts. He’ll defend his Australian title against No. 7 ranked Christian Tsoye on May 26, then No. 4 ranked Paul Gallen on June 16, both at Sydney’s ICC arena, then head to Tokyo attempting to win Australia’s first Olympic boxing gold medal.
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“That’s what I’m trying to get my head around, if or when I win a gold medal at the Olympics, my life is going to change,” said Huni, just turned 22.
“This is all in preparation for it.
“This is the reason we went pro, this is the reason why we do all the media stuff, I’ve got to get used to it. The only way you’re going to get good at it is to do it.
“I’m excited for the Olympics, and I’m excited for these next two fights, it’s all part of the journey, I’ve just got to ride the wave.”
Of course, the publicity has all centred around his looming bout against Gallen, the former NRL star who has confounded the critics by upsetting fancied rivals Mark Hunt and Lucas Browne to establish himself as a boxing force.
“All the talk so far has been my promoter Dean Lonergan going at it with Gallen, anyone would think it’s Dean getting in the ring with Gallen,” Huni said with his boyish smile.
“But I’m the one that’s going to be in front of him on June 16, I think he should be worrying more about how the fight’s going to go down.
“I know what I can do, and I’m going to do it, I’m going to box his ears off. He’s not even going to see most of the punches coming at him.”
At 193cm and 110kg, Huni is larger than his idol – Tyson stands 178cm tall and largely fought around 100kg in his prime.
Yet the heavyweight division is now stacked with monsters – the big three are Tyson Fury (206cm), Anthony Joshua (198cm) and Deontay Wilder (201cm).
Even Olympic gold medal favourite Bakhodir Jalolov, the only international boxer to defeat Huni, stands at 201cm. Most expect Jalolov and Huni to contest the gold medal match in Tokyo.
So like Tyson, Huni will be required to look and punch upward if he is to claim the medals and belts he dreams of.
“Watching Mike Tyson, he was a very big idol of mine, especially how explosive he was and how fast he could do things,” Huni said.
“That’s something I looked up to. At his size too, he definitely had it all, the angles, the speed, the head movement – but also the way he came off the head movement. He’d slip a punch, but there would always be a punch coming back.”
But recently, and worryingly for Gallen and others, Huni has been studying someone else closely.
“Canelo Alvarez, he’s definitely on a different level,” Huni said of boxing’s pound-for-pound king.
“Just watching him, you can tell his boxing IQ is crazy. He’s definitely someone good to look up to.
“You don’t need much power to drop someone, it’s where you hit them. If you hit someone on the spot, on the temple, you don’t need much power, it just has to be a sweet punch.
“Canelo has that down pat.
“Even if his body shots are crisp. That’s what I’m also going to bringing a lot of; working the body, breaking down my opponent.”
And this is where the warning gets real for Gallen.
“Even I’ve taken body shots before; the pain you have, you have to sit there and hold it, you can’t breathe because there is so much pain,” Huni said.
“I’d rather get dropped by a head shot than a body shot, because man, that’s very painful.
“And even if you do get up from a body shot, it takes everything away from you, it drains you. Your legs get weak.
“I’ve experienced it myself so that’s what I want to do to my opponents, drop them with a body shot. You can recover from head shots if you can hold off, but body shots? Nah. It takes it out of you.
“Gallen hasn’t fought anyone that can move as well as I can, and has as much speed as I have, so it’s going to be a shock to him.
“What he’s done in his boxing career so far, I’ve got respect for him. But he’s never faced anyone like me.
“There’s levels to this fight business and I think he’s finally reached as far as he can go.
“He’s a good guy, but when we get in the ring, it’s my home.
“I’ve been training for this my whole life.”
Huni was seven years old when he had his first spar in the ring.
He began fighting grown men at age 14.
There is concern among some in the boxing community that the punishment he’s endured while developing his exceptional skills against these hardened sparring partners may have already done lasting damage.
At his best, Huni is more Ali than Tyson; dazzlingly fast footwork, a lightning long-range jab and snapping counter combinations.
He’s beginning to understand that in order to succeed, he needs to stay true to Justis Huni.
“My first three fights, I let the hype and what everyone said – everyone wants the knockout – I let it get to me,” he said.
“Now I’m stripping back to boxing, staying long.
“In heavyweight boxing, everyone wants to see the big knockout. But I bring something different, I’m fast, I’ve got good footwork, I’ve just got to use it, and the wins will come.”
HUNI WARNS: TERMINATION DAY IS COMING FOR GALLEN
COVID may have killed the revolutionary plan to host Justis Huni’s next fight inside the Fox Sports television studios, but the heavyweight has warned Paul Gallen nothing will stop a career-ending beating on June 16.
Huni is now expected to fight Christian Tsoye at Sydney’s International Convention Centre before facing Gallen.
After Gallen’s blow-up regarding the fight poster released on Monday titled “Termination Day”, Huni warned: “It is going to be a termination”.
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“He’s got nothing I haven’t already experienced, I keep tunnel vision and I know what I have to do, that’s go out there and win,” Huni said.
“We were supposed to fight Lucas Browne before going to the Olympics but that all changed after the Gallen fight, now we’ve got Gallen and it’s exciting because he’s got such a good following.
“He brings a lot of eyes, which is good for boxing.
“But for sure, it’s definitely going to be termination day.
“But before I get to all that, I’ve got to handle my fight coming up against Christian Tsoye.”
The two new COVID cases in Sydney revealed last week meant Fox Sports work health and safety officials deemed it too risky to squeeze 36 invited guests to watch Huni fight No. 7 ranked Tsoye in their studios.
Fight promoter Dean Lonergan said he’s now in the final stages of talks with the ICC to host the bout – which is the same venue that Huni will fight Paul
Gallen three weeks later.
Again, the crowd will be limited to under 40 people.
While Tsoye is seen as a stepping stone to Gallen, the Cameroonian plans to disrupt Huni’s grand plans and cause one of the biggest shocks in Australian boxing.
“It’s a very good opportunity for me to prove what I can do,” Tsoye said.
“It’s boxing, the best fighter is going to get the win on the night.”
Lonergan said Tsoye will prove tougher than Gallen.
“He’s taller than Paul Gallen, he’s built more heavily that Gallen, he hits a lot harder than Gallen will hit, and with 200 amateur fights under his belt it’s the perfect preparation for Justis to go to the Olympics.
“This is a much harder fight than Paul Gallen could ever hope to put up so we see this as a massive fight in the build-up to the Olympics.”
Both the Tsoye and Gallen fights will be contested over 10 rounds for Huni’s Australian heavyweight title.
After the Gallen bout, Huni will fly to Japan for the Tokyo Games where he’ll attempt to become Australia’s first heavyweight boxing gold medallist.
FURIOUS GALLEN RAGES OVER ‘CHILDISH’ STUNT
A furious Paul Gallen has labelled promoter Dean Lonergan as “childish” and guaranteed he will not use a fight poster with the tagline “Termination Day” for his fight against Justis Huni.
Gallen learned of the fight poster on Monday morning – after it was confirmed his bout against Huni will take place at Sydney’s International Convention Centre on June 16 – and the pair exchanged heated words in a phone call.
The poster depicts Huni as The Terminator while Gallen, who is the A-side of the fight with the bigger pay-per-view pull and stands to earn $1.5 million for the heavyweight clash, is darkened in the background.
“I can guarantee you this is not the poster we will be using for the fight, it’s ridiculous,” Gallen said.
“He’s trying to pump his client but this bloke does not need a leg up every single time. When I first saw it I thought, ‘I don’t care’. But Dean Lonergan has been so difficult to deal with every step of the way, I’m going to dig my heels in and make him change it.
“Why can’t he just be an adult and keep his word? He’s being childish.
“He said I need the money and would fight anywhere, he said I’d fight in Mount Isa with Mal Meninga as the judge, well what happened? We’re fighting in Sydney.
“Just like I won that battle, I will win this one. I’m going to make him change the poster just to be a prick.
“He wants to carry on but ask yourself, do I need Dean Lonergan and Justis Huni, or do they need me? They need me.
“He seems to think that I’ll do whatever he says for money because I said early on that I’m a prize fighter.
“I’ve been in professional sport for 20 years, I’ve done all right. I don’t have some betting addiction that I need the money, I want the money but I don’t need it.
“I’m telling you I will win this, just like I won with the venue. If he wants to carry on I’ll cancel the fight.”
But Lonergan did not hold back when asked about Gallen’s stance.
“He’s kidding himself, I’ve been in the promotional business for 25 years, I don’t appreciate the input of a former footballer who has no marketing experience whatsoever,” Lonergan said.
“My job is to promote this fight and make Gallen as much money as he possibly can, so stop your whingeing and let me get on with my job.
“When you coin the marketing phrases for events like this, they must have an element of truth otherwise it doesn’t work. Gallen’s career is going to be terminated on June 16, as will all of his antics and the circus act that is his boxing career.
“When you negotiate a contract with the guy, he is very transparent and tells you exactly what he wants so that is admirable. But then when you talk about the finer points, he moans and whines on a regular basis.
“He bleated like a lamb being slaughtered when we had to find a new venue [after Hordern Pavilion was ruled out], with no consideration of how difficult it is to find a venue that can accommodate an event like this with six weeks’ notice.
“And now he’s supposedly a marketing genius who knows what we should be putting on promotional posters.
“He may have balls of steel getting into the ring with people he shouldn’t, but while this is a smart financial decision for him, it won’t be good for his health.”
Huni (3-0, 3KO) defends his Australian heavyweight title against No. 7 ranked Christian Tsoye on Wednesday, May 26 at the Fox Sports studios in Artarmon, and pending victory, will take on Gallen (11-0-1, 6KO) at the ICC on June 16.
Huni will then fly to Japan for the Tokyo Games where he’ll attempt to become Australia’s first heavyweight boxing gold medallist.
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