Heavyweight prospect Justis Huni promised to show a new, aggressive side of himself. It reaped immediate dividends as he stopped the hard-hitting Troy Pilcher in the second round Thursday evening at the Fortitude Music Hall in Brisbane, Australia. Critics of the 25-year-old former amateur star have often pointed to his lack of power relative to […]
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Heavyweight prospect Justis Huni promised to show a new, aggressive side of himself.
It reaped immediate dividends as he stopped the hard-hitting Troy Pilcher in the second round Thursday evening at the Fortitude Music Hall in Brisbane, Australia.
Critics of the 25-year-old former amateur star have often pointed to his lack of power relative to his large frame. But with the speed and footwork of a middleweight, the six-foot-four Huni has rarely been required to sit down on his punches and trade blow-for-blow.
Back in March, something changed. Boxing on the undercard of the Anthony Joshua versus Francis Ngannou bout in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Huni was well in control of his opponent, Kevin Lerena, until the 10th and final round. The experienced South African southpaw was urged by his corner to find something extra for his recently departed mother and he did exactly that, seriously wobbling the Australian with a looping left hand.
Huni did a stutter-step. He reeled around the ring. He clinched in close and ultimately survived to win a unanimous decision by scores of 96-94, 96-94 and 98-92.
Something changed in him that night. And maybe for the better.
On the media trail in the lead-up to the Pilcher fight, Huni (10-0, 5 knockouts) was at pains to explain he had been working on his power and his technique to get the most from his landed shots.
It ended up paying dividends against the 29-year-old Kiwi, who found himself bludgeoned into submission by the 2:26 mark of the second round.
Pilcher’s plan was to ambush Huni from the opening bell. He loaded up on right hands and outmuscled Huni in the clinches, pushing him back to the ropes. But as so often happens in scenes like this, the cream rises to the top.
Huni soaked up the pressure and pushed off from the clinches, creating space to punch. When there was room, the quicker, sharper and more accurate punches came from Huni.
Pilcher (9-1-1, 7 KOs) landed a good one-two late in the round, but it was Huni with the classier work, including a brace of powerful rips to the body shortly before the bell.
Huni had settled into his rhythm by the start of the second. A stiff left to the body followed by a right over the top set the tone of the proceedings. A lead left uppercut reminded Pilcher he would get punished for being too bold.
Pilcher tried hard, clubbing with his shots, but they had little effect on Huni, who looked serene in the eye of the storm.
A left hook, right-hand combination from Huni stung Pilcher in the middle of the round, but the underdog bit down on his mouthpiece and battled back, landing a quality lead right uppercut. Huni retaliated with a two-fisted body attack that made Pilcher wince and left him gasping for air.
With less than 50 seconds left on the clock, Huni launched a long left hook that caught Pilcher napping. His head snapped back and he stumbled into the ropes. Huni, with his newfound belief in his power, wasn’t about to let him off the hook. A thumping right hand caught Pilcher on the chin and as he draped his right arm over the top rope for support, Huni moved in to finish him off with a volley of shots, culminating with a roundhouse right that sunk to the canvas in the blue corner just as the towel came in to end the fight.
The fight was scheduled for 10 sessions, but it never looked like it would go anywhere near that far. Huni made sure of it.
“I knew he was going to come out strong and put it all out there in the first round. I just had to find my distance and pick my punches,” said Huni, who weighed in at a career-high 247½ pounds for the bout.
“It’s just another one down. I’m one step closer to my dream. We will just keep moving from now.
“It wasn’t dirty. He had to do what he had to do. He tried to frustrate me, but I had to pick my shots and get the job done.”
Huni wants to squeeze in two more fights this year, but he has no preference who they will be against.
“I’ll just let the team decide,” he said. “I’m ready to go. I’ll try to stay as busy as I can this year. Hopefully, we get two more fights out this year and then have another busy year next year.”
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