COVID double hit delays Huni-Goodall bout

Murray Wenzel |

Two bouts of COVID-19 have forced Justis Huni (pic) to postpone his fight with Joe Goodall.
Two bouts of COVID-19 have forced Justis Huni (pic) to postpone his fight with Joe Goodall.

Back-to-back COVID-19 infections have forced Australian heavyweight champion Justis Huni to postpone his fight with Joe Goodall until June 1.

The undefeated Australian pair, who both medalled at the world amateur championships before turning professional, were set to meet at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre next Friday.

Instead they’ll clash at the same venue on June 1 after Huni contracted the virus while on a United States training camp and then again on his return to Brisbane.

The 22-year-old was expected to contend for gold at last year’s Tokyo Olympics but was forced to pull out with a hand injury suffered and then inflamed in lead-up wins over Christian Tsoye and Paul Gallen.

He had also initially overcome a serious concussion to be fit to fight in Japan.

The date with Goodall was set to be Huni’s first since that 10th round stoppage of Gallen that earned him a 5-0 professional record.

He’ll instead return on the undercard when Australian Jai Opetaia fights cruiserweight world champion Mairis Briedis for the IBF title belt in April.

Promoter Dean Lonergan had planned to wheel his charge, who has world title ambitions, into seven fights this year but now estimates five is more realistic.

“If you look back at George Foreman, Mike Tyson, Lennox Lewis; they all fought 10 fights a year when they were coming up,” Lonergan told AAP.

“And Justis has always been keen to get in the ring since turning pro, so I want to honour that, but COVID has put the brakes on things.”

AAP