Rebuilt Huni eyes rising heavyweight star Itauma

[Pelican Press 0]

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Rebuilt Huni eyes rising heavyweight star Itauma

Talks have begun to match 20-year-old heavyweight standout Moses Itauma with Justis Huni despite the *********** needing an elbow operation after his latest knockout effort.

Huni moved to 12-0 with a clinical second-round stoppage of South African Shaun Potgieter on the Jai Opetaia-David Nyika Gold Coast undercard on Wednesday.

It was the former amateur standout’s third convincing win since July, a strategy his team hoped would reinvigorate the 25-year-old who had been thrust into high-class fights as he ground to a 9-0 professional start.

Huni told AAP last week he would have surgery to cure elbow pain caused by two bone chips after the Potgieter fight.

But that hasn’t halted talks for a return to the bright lights to face one of boxing’s most exciting emerging talents.

Itauma stopped *********** Demsey McKean in the first round on the Tyson Fury-Oleksandr Usyk undercard in December.

“We’d like that fight; we think it’s a great style fight … but no rush,” promoter Eddie Hearn said.

“We need to position him for a shot at the heavyweight title and when it comes we want to deliver it in Australia.

“This (comfortable victories) is just what he needed to get that spark back after some top level, world-level opposition.

“This guy’s nearly there; you can see the body changing. The speed’s back the confidence is back. It’s a massive 2025 coming up for Justis Huni.”

Paris Olympian and fellow heavyweight Teremoana Teremoana (6-0) also impressed on Wednesday night in a first-round takedown of Germany’s Osasu Otobo.

“They say don’t get excited too early, but it’s time to get excited now,” Hearn said of the 26-year-old.

“I’m telling you now, *********** boxing is on fire.

“This is the future right here and I truly believe that Australia has a great chance at a future world heavyweight champion.”

British promoter Hearn boasts a host of Australians in his Matchroom Boxing stable, with George Kambosos Jnr and WBC world featherweight champion Skye Nicolson set to appear on his next domestic fight in March.

Sam Goodman will take on Japan’s pound-for-pound beast Naoya Inoue for the undisputed super bantamweight champion in Tokyo on January 24.

And Jason Moloney (27-3) will also return to Japan on February 24 in his first appearance since relinquishing his WBO bantamweight belt in Tokyo last May.

The *********** can reignite hopes of another world title fight against former kickboxing pound-for-pound No.1 Tenshin Nasukawa (5-0), who was badly beaten in an exhibition by Floyd Mayweather in 2019 but since established himself as a boxing force.

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