Justis Huni’s rematch with New Zealand’s Kiki Toa Leutele has been cancelled following the death of his trainer Keri Fui.
Their heavyweight contest on the undercard of Saturday’s IBF cruiserweight title fight between Jai Opetaia and Huseyin Cinkara at the Gold Coast Convention Centre in Gold Coast, Australia had been in doubt since Fui’s death, after a heart attack, in November, and Huni’s promoters Tasman Fighters have decided to attempt to reorganise it for a future date. The all-Australian super-middleweight match-up between the promising Max McIntyre and Jed Morris, 26, will replace it as the chief support to Opetaia-Cinkara.
Australia’s Huni, 26 years old, won via unanimous decision in November 2022 when they fought over 10 rounds but he most recently lost for the first time when being stopped by Fabio Wardley in June. A new date, revealed Tasman’s Mick Francis, could come as soon as February.
“He just had the death of his coach three weeks ago; Kiki was struggling with a bit of an injury from training,” Francis told BoxingScene. “This particular card is pretty stacked as it is. It just made sense that both fighters were not up for it.
“They were both prepared to fight, but if these guys aren’t going to be at their best – they deserve to be at their best and it’s a fight that could be made on their own card. We spoke about transferring this particular fight to their own card in a couple of months, so that’s more or less it. It’s not that either fighter wanted to not fight – just that it probably works out better to put these guys on their own card and get them the opportunity to highlight their own pay-per-view show.
“Justis is alright. He’s a tough kid. He’s hurting, like anyone would. Keri wasn’t only his coach, he’d been with Justis since he was about 13, so he was obviously a big part of not only his career, but a big part of his life.
“We’ve had [the funeral] to deal with as well. They actually had a double funeral – a public ceremony and then a private ceremony, so it’s been hectic.”
The “stacked card” to which Francis was referring also features, among others, Huni’s fellow Australian heavyweight Teremoana Teremoana, the junior welterweight Jake Wyllie, and the former WBO bantamweight champion Jason Moloney, but on the occasion of Tasman’s first pay-per-view date with the influential Australian broadcaster Stan they have prioritised giving the lower-profile McIntyre, 21, the opportunity to make an impression on a wider audience.
“Max McIntyre is a kid that wants to better himself,” Francis explained. “He understands the industry and what he needs to do – not only to win these fights, but also to be a star and be recognised in this sport. He deserves his shot – I can see Max being a future star of Australian boxing.
“McIntyre’s a legitimate fighter. He’s 21 years old; he’s 8-0 with seven knockouts; he’s going to be a star of the future, so we want the platform to get behind him and show Australia and the rest of the world what talent we have down here in Australia.
“Teremoana won’t fight anymore than a six-round fight; I don’t think a six-round fight is worthy of a co-main fight, and we all know how Teremoana’s going to go. He’s going to knock out his opponent [German Garcia Montes of Mexico] out in three minutes.”
