Fabio Wardley dug deep to stop Justis Huni in the 10th round to become the WBA Interim Heavyweight Champion.
The stoppage means Wardley is in a position to take on either Oleksandr Uysk or Daniel Dubois for the Undisputed Heavyweight Title. Huni was in control for the large parts of the fight, as he was outboxing Wardley. Huni was landing his shots before moving out of danger. However, Wardley showed his power, landing a huge left hook in the third to warn Huni.
Huni reacted strongly with an uppercut in the fourth, cutting Wardley on his nose. Huni landed an overhand right and a left hook to the chin in the fifth. Huni found another right hand in the sixth, with a combination in the seventh to take control. Wardley looked in trouble until he landed a knockout blow in the tenth. A massive right hand dropped Huni. While he got off the canvas, the referee stopped the fight.
“I might not be a Usyk or a Huni with lots of boxing skills. But I can dig deep, bite down on the gumshield and find a way to win and that’s exactly what I did tonight. Justis Huni is a great operator, I knew his gameplan down to a tee, I should’ve performed better but I found a way to win. He’s a great boxer, some great skills, he showed me everything he had, pulled out all the tricks, I didn’t expect him to bank rounds like that. We rejigged, screwed my head back on, stuck to the game plan and got the win,” Wardley said
WBA interim heavyweight title: Fabio Wardley beat Justis Huni — KO in round 10
Super lightweight: Pierce O’Leary beat Liam Dillon — unanimous decision (116-112, 115-113, 117-111)
Middleweight: Lewis Richardson beat Dmitri Protkunas — points win (60-54)
Cruiserweight: Mike Perez beat Steven Ward — TKO in round 9
Super bantamweight (float): Jack Williams beat Fernando Joaquin Valdez — points win (40-36)
Heavyweight: Nelson Hysa beat Patrick Korte — KO in round 2
Super featherweight: Billy Adams beat Alexander Morales — points win (40-36)
Middleweight: Sam Gilley vs. Gideon Onyenani — declared a draw (76-76)
Featherweight: Umar Khan beat Moises Garcia — points win (79-72)
Featherweight: Lillie Winch beat Katerina Dvorakova — points win (60-54)
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