Justis Huni taken on ‘crazy rollercoaster’ ahead of busy schedule

Australian Heavyweight boxing champion Justis Huni has had far from the ideal preparation to as he enters the most challenging sequence of his short professional career.

With an Australian Heavyweight Title defence against Christian Tsoye on Wednesday May 26, his first pay-per view against Paul Gallen on June 16 and an Olympic charge in July, Huni has taken a huge gamble with a packed schedule.

Watch Justis Huni vs Christian Tsoye Live & Free on Kayo Freebies. Register now and stream live instantly >

But Huni had far from the ideal preparation after being knocked around by his first dose of the COVID vaccine which has forced some extreme measures to get in shape, calling it a “crazy rollercoaster”.

Huni said the vaccination “knocked me about a little bit” saying he had a dead arm and pain under his armpit before getting flu-like symptoms four days after getting the jab.

Huni turned around from Brisbane Airport after the illness set in. He will now seek to get his second jab after the June 16 fight with Gallen as he has to have his second jab before departing for the Olympics in July.

“It was a bit of a rollercoaster but it’s all part of the journey, you’ve just got to embrace it and not let it bring you down,” he told news.com.au.

“It’s a bit concerning (the COVID outbreak in Japan). It’s risky but I think me and the team will sit down and talk about our options and the best option going forward because at the end of the day, my health is the main priority so just got to make the right choices and smart choices.”

Justis Huni is Australia’s great heavyweight hope.Source:Getty Images

But it’s also changed Huni’s preparation for the challenging period, requiring him to cram in 30-rounds of sparring over three days at the end of last week.

Huni said he pulled up “in fairly good condition” from the crazy workload before the fight.

“Normally we don’t do that with really hard sparring a week before the fight, but it had to be done,” Huni said. “It wasn’t my best camp but the team and I felt like it’s what I needed to find where I was at and see if I was ready to go Wednesday. I got through and I’m ready to go. I’m fit, I can do the 10 rounds pretty comfortably, so I’m ready to go.”

Huni said that Tsoye was “a strong competitor” and said he’d have to be smart to avoid falling into the traps the 31-year-old may set.

Gallen act ‘caught me off guard’: Huni

Paul Gallen and Justis Huni meet for the first time.Source:FOX SPORTS

But while the Tsoye fight is Huni’s next focus, the Australian boxing community is excited by the prospect of Huni fighting rugby league great turned prize fighter Paul Gallen.

Fresh off his shock first round KO of former WBA Heavyweight champ Lucas Browne, Gallen has found the formula to make the most of his boxing career.

But Huni realised when you’re fighting a prize fighter like Gallen, he’s working hard to promote the fight, even delving into trash talk, something Huni said has been “a crazy rollercoaster”.

He labelled Huni “disrespectful” for having the Tsoye and Gallen fights so close together and demanding a lions share of the prize money after baiting Huni’s promoter Dean Lonergan with his “sharpen your pencil” barb.

But it was a run in at the NRL’s Magic Round that wrong-footed Huni with Gallen flipping the bird at the 22-year-old rising star, in one of their first meetings in person.

“He caught me off guard (at Magic Round),” Huni laughed. “I had no idea about all of it. It was kind of my first encounter with Gal, it was a bit different and kind of caught me a little off guard, I wasn’t expecting it. But the show must go on.

“He’s just got to build it up. He brings the eyes. I know a lot of people don’t really like him but he brings the eyes and he’s good at what he does.

Arguably Justis started it though.Source:FOX SPORTS

“People that know me know I’m not a big trash talker. I want to let my actions do the talking. At the end of the day he can say what he wants to say about me but it’s not going to change the outcome of what happens in the fight night. I don’t bother wasting my breath or energy on him.”

He added that Gallen had earned his place in boxing and had beaten plenty of credible people on his way to fifth on the Australian National Boxing Federation ratings.

‘Dream come true’ drives Huni

Huni had dominated throughout his junior career, winning a Youth World Championship in 2016, before withdrawing at the semi final stage of the World Boxing Championship in 2019, but still coming home with a bronze medal.

And he didn’t wait to make an impact as a professional, winning the Australian Heavyweight Title from Faiga Opelu in his debut with a seventh round TKO.

This should be a belter.Source:Getty Images

Having started at smaller venues in his career, with is currently 3-0 with three knockouts, Huni is facing a challenging schedule with the fight with Tsoye on Wednesday May 26, Gallen on

“It’s crazy, it’s all starting to happen,” he said. “I’ve been waiting for this moment for my whole life so it’s crazy for all of this to be unfolding now. I’ve had so many dreams about it and now it’s here. It’s all happening. At the moment I’m just taking it all in as I go.”

With the Gallen fight potentially sanctioned by the IBF to hand the winner a world ranking, the result could catapult Huni onto the world stage, particularly if he can earn an Olympic medal in Tokyo.

“This for us is a dream come true,” Rocki said. “I had absolutely no idea that we’d be here, this is so quick in his career but in saying that, it’s something he’s worked all his life for. Seven years old he started boxing so it’s 15 years now so I think he’s more than ready.

“He might be 22 but he’s been in that ring for a long time.”

Source: Read Full Article