Justis Huni gearing up for quick-fire Christian Tsoye, Paul Gallen fights
Written By
Tom Naghten
(SportingNews Australia)
Australian heavyweight champion Justis Huni has no issues fighting on quick turnarounds as he prepares for the biggest few months of his young career.
Still only 22, Huni has fights lined up with Christian Tsoye and Paul Gallen just three weeks apart, before he reverts back to amateur mode for the rescheduled Tokyo Olympics.
Rarely do high-profile fighters back up so quickly these days, but the Brisbane-based Huni says it suits him just fine.
"In the amateurs, you fight someone everyday, so I’m used to it - three weeks is heaps of time for me," Huni told
Sporting News .
"I'd rather keep the ball rolling while I'm fit instead of having a break after a fight and having to get that fitness back."
Huni's packed schedule is a throwback to a bygone era in the heavyweight division, when the likes of a rising Mike Tyson would step out, albeit usually briefly, on a regular basis.
"Every second week [Tyson] was in there, just pumping it out," Huni said
"I think that’s the way to go, I like to keep it old school."
Huni will take on the Cameroon-born Tsoye in Sydney on May 26.
Initally the bout was set for Fox Studios in Artarmon, though concern around social distancing requirements put paid to those plans.
Promoter Dean Lonergan is confident of finding a solution, revealing a tentative booking has been made at the International Convention Centre in Darling Harbour.
Should all go to plan, that's also where
Huni will be taking on Gallen on June 16 in the biggest test of the NRL premiership winner's boxing career to date.
Fresh off a
first-round knockout win over Lucas Browne , Gallen has been granted a shot at the Australian title won by Huni in his professional debut against Django Opelu in November.
Huni is confident he'll be "fine" to face Gallen so soon after the Tsoye fight, but admitted the rugby league great has some admirable qualities in the ring.
"I think he shocked a lot of people," Huni said of Gallen's win over Browne.
"I had a feeling he was gonna win but I didn’t think he was gonna win by knockout, I thought if he was gonna win it would be by decision, but good on him.
"He trains really hard, you can tell he’s a really good athlete, he’s been an athlete for a very long time and he did really well, respect to him."
After a credentialed amateur career, the Tsoye and Gallen fights will be the fourth and fifth pro outings for Huni and the rising star is keen to show off his skills.
"[Gallen] is a fit and hard-working guy and he gets the rewards for it, but it’s going to be a different story with me," he said.
"I’m pretty confident in my own abilities and I know what I can do. What I can do is more than enough to beat my next two opponents.
"What I’ve done in my professional career is like 20 or 30 per cent of what I can do.
"I can do a lot more and I will be showing more again with these next two fights."
Huni was last week confirmed as
one of six Australian boxers heading to Tokyo for the Olympics which begin on July 23.
A campaign years in the making, Huni said he was conscious of having to switch back to the three, three-minute round conditions of the Olympics after training for 10-round pro fights.
"I’ve always got in the back of my head that I’ve still got to go back to the amateur style," he added.
"I’ve kind of still got the amateur style but I'm slowly getting used to just taking my time and being patient.
"We had the [Olympics] announcement last week and it really sunk in, it was something special for me, it made me reflect on my whole career.
"Everything I've done along the way to get to where I was last week being announced on the Olympic team, it was a very special moment and it really sunk in, it made me a bit teary thinking how far I've come."
