One-punch knockout saves Wardley in Huni title bout

British heavyweight Fabio Wardley delivered a stunning, one-punch 10th-round knockout to stop Justis Huni and claim the vacant interim WBA title.

The dramatic, unforgettable finish sent a rain-soaked Portman Road crowd into raptures.

Backed by a vocal home crowd of around 20,000 at Ipswich Town’s ground, an outboxed Wardley struggled to find his rhythm and pin down the slicker, sharper Huni.

Behind on the scorecards and facing defeat by the Australian, all it took was a single punch to turn things around for the 30-year-old.

“Eat your heart out Deontay Wilder, that was a Deontay Wilder moment,” Wardley’s promoter Frank Warren said afterwards.

The victory marked Wardley’s 18th knockout in 19 professional wins and moved him one step closer to a world title shot.

“I don’t profess to being any [Oleksandr] Usyk or Justis Huni who has all the skills, but I know how to win fights and that’s one thing I knew I had to do tonight,” said Wardley.

“Justis Huni is a great operator. We’d drilled everything over and over again. I should’ve performed better in some of those rounds.

With champions Usyk and Daniel Dubois set to meet for the undisputed title in July, Wardley – now ranked number one by the WBA – is well-positioned for a shot at global honours.

Huni, who replaced American Jarrell Miller on short notice, suffered his first professional defeat after 12 consecutive wins.

An outdoor fight in the United Kingdom is never without its risks. Fans wore ponchos and reporters scrambled for shelter as heavy rain fell throughout the evening.

The downpour eased when Brisbane native Huni made his ring walk to a predictably hostile reception, before the mood shifted as a steely-faced and focused Wardley emerged.

Bathed in the golden glow of the floodlight, the Ipswich-born boxer soaked in the moment he had been dreaming of since turning professional.

The opening rounds saw both fighters cautiously size each other up.

Huni – well-schooled and boasting serious amateur pedigree – landed a thudding left hook followed by a sharp right in the third.

Wardley, who only took up boxing at 19 and turned pro after just four white-collar bouts, was known for his raw power and ability to dig deep.

But it was Huni landing the cleaner shots, especially with that left hook.

With only two contests beyond six rounds in his career, Wardley began to feel the pace. His timing was off and a grimace in the seventh said it all after Huni whipped in a punishing right hook.

Just when it seemed the homecoming would turn into a nightmare, Wardley achieved one of the biggest turnarounds in recent times to send the crowd into a frenzy.

Wardley’s meteoric rise is nothing short of remarkable, especially for someone who only laced up the gloves a decade ago.

That said, there is room for caution. He struggled for large parts of the fight, raising the question of whether he is ready to mix it with Usyk, Dubois or Joseph Parker – three of the division’s most in-form fighters.

Still, Wardley has cleared every hurdle put in front of him in the pro ranks. He stopped domestic rival David Adeleye, beat Olympic medallist Frazer Clarke in a thriller, and has now added a respected international name in Huni with a dramatic, highlight-reel ending.

And when he has that sort of equaliser in his locker, he is a dangerous proposition for any heavyweight rival.