Eddie Hearn Wants To See Justis Huni Vs. Moses Itauma: “He’s Good Enough To Win That Fight”
With so many names being bandied around as far as red-hot heavyweight Moses Itauma’s next fight, one name has perhaps dodged the radar as of late: that of Justis Huni. Huni, last seen coming thisclose to beating Fabio Wardley and taking his unbeaten record, impressed many with his boxing in the Wardley fight, and only a last-gasp, out of the blue KO from Wardley saved him and denied Huni.
Now, as Huni’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, has explained to The Ring, Huni of Australia will return to action in November. And after his comeback fight is done and dusted, Hearn would like to see Huni get in there with Itauma.
Huni at “50 percent” vs Wardley — what changes on the comeback?
Hearn points out two things: how young Huni still is, and how he had to contend with both a shoulder problem in the lead-up and also the taking of the Wardley fight at short notice. Hearn says the Huni we saw against Wardley back in June was only firing at “50 percent.”
“He’s going to come back in November,” Hearn said of 26-year-old Huni, 12-1(7). “Most likely back home in Australia. I want to get him a good 10-round win, and then he’s ready to fight anyone. People don’t realize Justis is very young. He also only had four weeks’ notice for that fight, and he had a shoulder issue in the build-up. It was a great comeback for Fabio, but Justis showed everyone how good he is. There’s so much more to come. That was just 50 percent, it really was. I like that fight (with Itauma) for Justis. I just think it’s two good, young, fast heavyweights. And Justis won’t be sitting on the ropes waiting for Itauma to unload. He will be giving it a go, and I believe he’s good enough to win that fight.”
Can Huni be the first to truly test Itauma’s chin?
So, who knows – maybe these two “good, young, fast heavyweights” will hook up next year sometime and maybe give us a great fight. Thus far in his career, 20-year-old southpaw Itauma has shown zero weaknesses, but unlike Huni, he has not yet had his chin tested. The question now regarding Huni is, can he come back as an improved, more experienced fighter after the heartbreak of the loss to Wardley, or might the loss bother him psychologically? Hearn is dead right when he says Huni showed us all how good he is prior to getting tagged by a desperate Wardley. That version of Huni might well give Itauma his toughest fight yet.