From Raincheck To Chin-Check

On Balmy Night In Ipswich!

By: Frank Warren

(June 11th) The Surge of emotion when Fabio Wardley detonated the whopping right-hander to the chin of Justis Huni on Saturday can only be compared to your team scoring a last-gasp winner, against the run of play, in a major cup final.

It was that sort of night. With the obvious exception of the patchy weather, it was a magnificent occasion with solid, competitive fights, topped off by a cracking main event featuring a big hometown favourite performing in front of his people.

I must pay tribute to the Ipswich crowd. They turned out in their thousands for what was most probably the first major boxing event staged in the city and created a fantastic atmosphere. It was naturally partisan, but never hostile and I would have no hesitation over doing a repeat event at Portman Road when the football diary permits.

In the fight itself you don’t need me to tell you that Fabio was labouring and lagging behind on the cards against his higher pedigree opponent. It wasn’t looking good for a home win.

However, both fighters called it correctly in the build up to the fight. Justis promised that he would dominate with his superior boxing skills, while Fabio insisted that the Aussie would have to be perfect for every second of every round to prevail.

I think it was Deontay Wilder who first coined it, saying that he only needs a second to win a fight, no matter what the scorecards are saying. It is the same with Fabio and he proved it again, even though he was looking a bit down in the dumps as the rounds totted up.

Even though I know it is not my place to do so - and I shouldn’t do it - I was imploring Fabio to bring his right hand into play. He wasn’t throwing it and I could see Justis was going to be vulnerable.

And so it turned out. Fabio’s big bomb will be replayed many, many times in years to come and will surely be a contender for Knockout of the Year when the awards season comes around.

He is an honest and intelligent individual who readily admits his limitations, but he is still learning and improving. We all must take into account that he has only had something like 24 fights in his entire life, so he is a long way from being the finished article.

He is an exciting, quality fighter though, who people want to watch and see succeed.

Fabio is now in a great position with his WBA Interim world title and, before he gets his turn when the rotation system lands on his turn, he has got a bit of time to top up his experience with a couple more good fights.

As for Justis, his time will come. I must say I found him to be such a polite and engaging young fella, who was an absolute pleasure to deal with. I certainly wish him every success for the future.

Also on the card, Pierce O’Leary is now the proud owner of a EBU European title belt at super lightweight following his decision victory over Liam Dillon. Pierce, in my opinion, is destined for big things and there are not many, if any, that I wouldn’t confidently put him in with.

Next, we are working towards having him fight in Dublin.

Congratulations go to Lewis Richardson for his successful professional debut. There is a lot to like about what we witnessed over the six rounds, but he obviously needs to further adapt to the pro game.

There was a fair bit of talk in interviews beforehand over the last time we signed up Olympic fighters, with the thought process being that it was in the James DeGale era.

I’ve got an excuse for my memory lapse because I’m an old geezer, but it did eventually dawn on me that we took Nicola Adams to a world title and also signed up Joe Joyce, although not from the very beginning.

They both medalled, of course, at the 2016 Games, with Nicola also striking gold in 2012.

About Frank Warren

In an era spanning over 35 years, Hall of Fame boxing Promoter and Manager Frank Warren has worked with some of the biggest fighters in boxing history. Hamed, Bruno, Tyson, Calzaghe, Benn, Collins, Eubank, Khan and Hatton are some of the iconic names he has promoted during his career.

BoxNation

In 2011 Frank launched the innovative direct to consumer TV model, BoxNation as part of a vision that saw the sports TV market evolving from the traditional reliance on major satellite and cable broadcasters.

Since then BoxNation has gone from strength to strength becoming the UK’s fastest growing independent subscription broadcaster in the process and showcasing the biggest fights from at home and abroad, along the way.

Through Queensberry Promotions and BoxNation, the future of British boxing has never looked in such great shape.

About TNT Sports

BT Sport is a group of pay television sports channels provided by BT Consumer; a division of BT Group in the United Kingdom and Ireland that was launched on 1 August 2013. The channels are based at the former International Broadcast Centre at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in London.