FABIO WARDLEY snatched victory from the jaws of defeat against Justis Huni.
The 30-year-old produced a stunning tenth-round KO to retain his unbeaten tag.
Fabio Wardley and Justis Huni did battle in Ipswich on Saturday night[/caption]
Huni (right) landed almost three times as many power punches[/caption]
But the only one that mattered was Wardley’s monster KO punch in round 10[/caption]
Wardley went into Saturday’s bout as the overwhelming favourite to take the vacant interim WBA title.
The heavyweight star was fighting infront of his hometown crowd in Ipswich, with Huni a late replacement for Jarrell Miller.
But it was the Aussie who dominated the bout from the off at a rain-sodden Portman Road.
The punch stats reveal Huni threw 342 punches across the 10 rounds.
Wardley responded with 330 of his own – but landed just 117 to Huni’s 159.
The starkest stat came with the power punches, as Huni let rip with 114 heavy shots across the contest.
Wardley could only muster 49 of his own in response.
The Brit could only out-punch Huni in TWO rounds of the contest, noticeably tiring after a 64-punch effort in Round 3.
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Huni’s dominance had him leading comfortably with all three judges going into the 10th round.
But Wardley produced a mammoth right hand to KO the Aussie just when it mattered most.
Wardley’s win puts him in line for a shot at the winner of Oleksandr Usyk and Daniel Dubois’ unification bout next month.
Following Saturday’s win – his 18th KO victory in 19 fights – The Barista admitted it had been a close call.
He said: “I don’t profess to be any kind of Usyk or Justis Huni… someone with all the skills.
“But one thing I do know is how to win fights, dig deep, find a bit of heart, bite down on the gumshield, find a way to win.
“That’s one thing I had to do tonight.
“I should have performed better in some of the rounds.
“It’s not always the way it goes. Sometimes you just need to find a different way to win.
“So look, we pulled something out of the bag.”
