JUSTIS HUNI enters enemy territory when he faces Fabio Wardley in Ipswich – but it will take a lot to faze the travelling Australian.
After all, Huni survived a terrifying drive-by-shooting in June 2022 only to win his next fight less than a week later.
The boxer was just 23 when his family home in Brisbane, with ten inside, was targeted with five bullets.
Two children, one aged eight and one just six months old, were among those in the house when shots fired at 4am.
And despite cops and news crews surrounding the property – Huni was more focused on his morning sparring session that day.
He told Ring Magazine: “I still remember it well.
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“It was like, gunshots fired at my house then all of a sudden I had police and TV crews at the front of my house all morning.
“But I had sparring that morning. I just looked straight past the news crews and just went to sparring.
“Got my sparring done and then came back home to so much news and reporters at the house.”
The frightening ordeal came while Huni was 5-0 – with four knockouts – and was approaching a fight against Joseph Gooddall.
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And he would amazingly win the bout over ten rounds, not losing a round in the eyes of one judge.
Three years on and no arrests were made and the perpetrators remain a mystery.
Huni has since improved his record to 12-0 and returns on Saturday in the biggest fight of his career.
He replaced Jarrell Miller – the controversial serial drug cheat – after the American pulled out of facing Wardley through “injury”.
Huni accepted the deal on just five weeks notice and has no fear in taking on Ipswich’s Wardley at Portman Road having overcome far worse.
He said: “The timing of the shooting was crazy because I had the Goodall fight five days later.
“I think if I could get through that, I’m sure I can handle what’s going to come at me on June 7th.
“Everything is all character building and everything has got me to where I am today and to be able to get me past obstacles that are about to come up like June 7th.
“Everything in my life has happened for a reason. It was scary of course, I was living in the house and my whole family was in the house that night.
“It was a scare but I think I was so zoned in and focused on the fight it did not affect me. I kind of just overlooked it.
“Now that I think back at it, it was a big deal, but at the time I was so focused on my job at hand that I kind of just brushed it away and just kept moving forward.
I think if I could get through that, I’m sure I can handle what’s going to come at me on June 7th.
Justis Huni on his drive-by-shooting ordeal
“I won that fight and there was so much security and stuff at the fight because obviously they thought it was connected to me.
“I don’t know. It just shows what the mind can do when you’re locked in on something so bad. You just kind of forget about it.”
Huni, 26, flew to England in mid May to face off with Wardley, 30, for the first time on the football pitch.
And instead of flying 10,000 miles back, the Aussie set up camp in Blackpool’s Sharpstyle Boxing Gym for the remainder of his training.
He said: “It’s a kind of interesting place. It’s a bit different to the Gold Coast.
“I haven’t had a chance to look around and go down to the water yet but from what I’ve seen it seems quiet here and that’s how I like it.
“It’s a lot better than when I was in London for a few days – that was too busy for me, too much traffic.
“But there’s not nearly as much traffic in Blackpool so I’ve liked it.
“We’ve managed to get the sparring we need from a few local boys who have come down to help me out.
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“I’ve got all the training that I’ve needed. I’ve done all the hard work I’ve needed to do.
“I’m just going to go in there and do my job… do what I’ve done for the last 20 years since I started in this sport.”
Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk
