Justis Huni made a statement earlier today with his second-round stoppage win over 10-1 Shaun Potgieter. The Aussie fighter has cemented his spot in the heavyweight rankings, and may fight for a title later this year. With the WBO ranking both fighters highly, could we see Justis Huni vs Moses Itauma this year?
Today, top Australian heavyweight prospect, Justis Huni, impressed a home crowd in his swift defeat of Potgieter. Huni is ranked #5 by the WBO, and is in line for a big 2025, potentially fighting for the WBO Interim title.
The WBO Interim title is currently held by Joseph Parker, but will become vacant as soon as Parker steps in the ring to face Daniel Dubois in February, the WBO President has revealed.
Justis Huni’s Journey: Victories, Setbacks, and Resilience
Justis Huni, the highly-touted Australian heavyweight, continued his impressive run in early 2025, building on a strong 2024 campaign. Before his dominant second-round TKO victory over Shaun Potgieter on January 8, 2025, Huni had already secured notable wins. In March 2024, he faced South African veteran Kevin Lerena, earning a hard-fought unanimous decision in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Despite being rocked in the final round, Huni showcased his resilience and technical skill to secure the victory with scores of 96-94, 96-94, and 98-92. He followed this with two more second-round stoppage victories in Brisbane in late 2024, defeating Troy Pilcher on July 25 and Leandro Daniel Robutti on December 11. His win against Shaun Potgieter, who held a professional record of 9 wins and 2 losses at the time, further solidified his position. Potgieter, the reigning South African Heavyweight Champion, fell to Huni via TKO in round two, a bout that saw Huni challenge for the IBF Pan-Pacific and WBO Global belts.
However, Huni’s undefeated professional record of 12-0 faced its sternest test and ultimately its first defeat on June 7, 2025. He challenged Fabio Wardley for the vacant WBA interim heavyweight title at Portman Road in Ipswich, England. Huni was ahead on the scorecards before being dramatically knocked out with a right hand in the tenth round, marking the first loss of his career. Demonstrating his determination to bounce back, Huni returned to the ring on April 11, 2026, securing a majority decision victory over Frazer Clarke at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London. As of May 2026, Justis Huni holds a professional record of 13 wins, 1 loss, and 0 draws, with 7 wins coming by knockout.
Moses Itauma: The Heavyweight Prodigy’s Rapid Ascent
Moses Itauma put the heavyweight division on notice in his last fight, in which he blasted Huni’s fellow Australian, Demsey McKean, before the second round, doing in one round what took Filip Hrgovic twelve. This devastating first-round technical knockout occurred on December 21, 2024, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, as part of a major undercard. Itauma’s performance against McKean, who had a record of 22 wins and 1 loss at the time, was a clear statement of intent. Prior to this, Itauma had also secured a second-round TKO over Mariusz Wach in July 2024, further showcasing his explosive power.
Moses Itauma has been touted as the prospect to beat Mike Tyson’s record of becoming the youngest heavyweight world champion. With only a few months to achieve this, a Justis Huni Moses Itauma fight marks one possible, and fast, route to the title. His professional career since early 2025 has been nothing short of spectacular. On May 24, 2025, Itauma secured a second-round TKO victory over Mike Balogun. He then faced a significant step-up in competition on August 16, 2025, taking on veteran Dillian Whyte in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and impressively stopping him in the first round. Itauma continued his dominant run on March 28, 2026, defeating Jermaine Franklin via fifth-round knockout in Manchester, United Kingdom, marking Franklin’s first loss by knockout. Itauma was voted The Ring magazine Prospect of the Year for 2024 and has held the Commonwealth heavyweight title since 2025. His current professional record stands at an unblemished 14 wins, 0 losses, and 0 draws, with an impressive 12 of those wins coming by knockout.
The Evolving Heavyweight Title Landscape and the Unfulfilled Clash
Due to other fighters in the rankings being locked in their own title eliminators – with Zhang set to face Kabayel and Bakole soon to collide with Efe Ajagba, this leaves #5 and #6 to face off for the vacant title. Following his close fight with Kevin Lerena, Huni has been wound back slightly in opposition, though in his post-fight interview, Huni’s promoter, Eddie Hearn spoke on the possibility of Justis Huni Moses Itauma this year.
Hearn said, ‘I know that the Moses Itauma fight could land for the [WBO] interim title. We like that fight, we think it’s a great style for Justis.’ He goes on to say, ‘[They’re] two tremendous heavyweights. No rush […] He’s going to keep improving […] We need to position him for a shot at the world heavyweight title and when it comes we want to deliver it right here in Australia’.
The WBO Interim Heavyweight title, held by Joseph Parker at the time of the original article, did indeed become vacant. Parker challenged Daniel Dubois for the IBF Heavyweight World Championship on February 22, 2025. As per WBO rules, the interim title was automatically declared vacant once Parker entered the ring for that fight. Parker had previously won the WBO Interim belt by defeating Zhilei Zhang on March 8, 2024. Daniel Dubois went on to successfully defend his IBF title against Parker.
In other significant heavyweight developments, Oleksandr Usyk unified the WBA, WBC, IBF, and WBO titles by defeating Tyson Fury on May 18, 2025. However, Usyk later relinquished the WBO Heavyweight title on November 17, 2025, leading to Fabio Wardley, who had defeated Justis Huni, being elevated from interim to full WBO Heavyweight Champion. The WBO title changed hands again on May 9, 2026, when Daniel Dubois stopped Fabio Wardley in the 11th round to become the new WBO Heavyweight Champion.
Regarding the other title eliminators mentioned, Agit Kabayel stopped Zhilei Zhang in the sixth round on February 22, 2025, to claim the WBC’s interim heavyweight title. The clash between Martin Bakole
