Fabio Wardley celebrates another KO win with coach Rob HodginsFabio Wardley celebrates another KO win with coach Rob Hodgins (Image: Mark Robinson) FAB'S FANTASTIC JOURNEY
Before we get to the event and the fight itself, it's worth reflecting on Wardley's journey to this point - because it's extraordinary.
Having been a player in Ipswich Town's academy as a youngster, Wardley only started boxing at the age of 21, when he was working as a recruitment consultant.
Coach Rob Hodgins, who has been in Wardley's corner his whole career, recalls: “He was 6ft 5ins, tall, gangly, the skinniest legs you’ve ever seen in your life, but he walked into the gym with the biggest smile and the most confidence – we all fell in love with him straight away."
He quickly showed a natural talent and raw power which saw him impress in four white collar bouts.
But rather than go down the traditional amateur route, he decided to turn pro. At the time, the hope was that he could maybe win an area title - at best, the British. That in itself would have been remarkable.
And yet here we are, eight years after his pro debut. Wardley has knocked down every man he's ever faced, and knocked out 17 foes in his 18 wins. He's unbeaten. He's wiped out opponents who have way more amateur pedigree and experience.
He's won the English, British, Commonwealth and European heavyweight titles. He's ranked number one in the world by the WBA. He could now win the WBA interim world title belt, Oh, and he's main eventing Portman Road.
It shouldn't be happening. It shouldn't be possible. And yet it is. A story like this may never happen again.
Fabio Wardley and Justis Huni meet for the WBA interim world heavyweight titleFabio Wardley and Justis Huni meet for the WBA interim world heavyweight title (Image: Leigh Dawney/Queensberry) HOW WE GOT HERE
Ok, so that's Wardley's extraordinary journey covered. Up next, how we got to this fight.
When his dream Portman Road fight was announced, Wardley was due to face giant American Jarrell Miller, a brash New Yorker who's mixed it at the top table and would have marched at the Suffolk man from the opening bell, intent on overwhelming him.
But, after slapping Wardley at the launch press conference and using all sorts of frankly unacceptable language, Miller pulled out with an injured shoulder just over four weeks away from fight night.
It looked as though his replacement would be highly-ranked Croatian Filip Hrgovic, a man who's just beaten Brit Joe Joyce, but in the end unbeaten young Australian Justis Huni was the man who got the fight.
And he brings a totally different set of skills to the table...
Justis Huni seems totally unfazed by the scale of this fightJustis Huni seems totally unfazed by the scale of this fight (Image: Leigh Dawney/Queensberry) THE OPPONENT
Huni, like Wardley, is one of the best young heavyweights on the planet. He's 12-0 with seven stoppages, but has a stellar amateur career behind him too. He won the World Junior Championships and boxed the best of the best in the unpaid ranks, with a very tasty 42-3 amateur record.
The 26-year-old is ranked number one by the WBO, has fast hands and fast feet, moves beautifully and has won his last three fights in the second round.
Unlike Miller, Huni is calm, relaxed and likeable. Having chatted to him, I can honestly say he seems totally unfazed by the size of this fight, or the stage he's now on.
There's a quiet confidence and determination about him which suggests Wardley's in for a tough night, win or lose.
Huni's repeatedly claimed - in his low-key, respectful way - that he's better than the Suffolk star in every area, perhaps apart from lacking Wardley's terrifying power.
At the final pre-fight press conference on Thursday, he simply promised to teach Fabio 'a boxing lesson.'
But can he? And will he?
A war suits WardleyA war suits Wardley (Image: Ross Halls) THE FIGHT
On the simplest possible level, this fight is being pitched as that most classic of all boxing match-ups - the boxer (Huni) versus the puncher (Wardley).
Wardley doesn't agree with that though, and neither does coach Hodgins.
"If anyone thinks Fab is just a puncher they've got to do their research," he told me.
"If you go back to the David Adeleye fight (KO 7) he slowly broke David down and took him apart.
"The boxing was 100% on that night."
Hodgins is certainly right that Wardley's ever-improving boxing skills are often overlooked because of that KO record. He too has fast hands and can move in and out of range quickly.
His jab, when he's in the mood, is extremely swift and effective. He also throws punches from odd angles, which opponents often don't see coming.
In Huni though, he's facing a foe who simply believes he'll be a step ahead of him all night. In his eyes, Wardley's vaunted power will be rendered useless, because he won't be able to land it.
Fabio Wardley has promised a KO winFabio Wardley has promised a KO win (Image: PA Sport) WHAT HAPPENS?
I don't see any way that this is not a fantastic fight. Their styles are made for entertainment.
While Huni has taken the fight at short notice and flown half way around the world for this opportunity, I don't think he'll suddenly wilt under pressure when the dance begins under those bright Portman Road lights.
There's also no way he'll be looking for the 'bloodbath' he said he wanted in one of his pre-fight interviews. In a blood-soaked barnburner, there is only one winner - and that man hails from Ipswich. In a war, the side with the bigger bombs win. A war suits Wardley.
"I think that's just words," Wardley chuckled. "He definitely doesn't want that. Out of the two of us who have gone through a war, I'm the one who's really been put through his paces in that sense."
No, Huni will come out and look to box. He throws a rapier jab and lightning fast combinations, which he mixes up well to body and head, particularly with the left hook.
He'll keep moving, pivoting after punching and angling off. Huni won't want to stay still too long and give the Suffolk man a chance to detonate something big.
"I think it's something he and his team will have paid attention to," Wardley said of his power punching.
"I think they'll be wary of not engaging, not getting too stuck into a war with me, because I think they know that's an area where I'll come out on top and he's not the greatest at.
"They will have built a plan around trying to avoid my power, but whether you can execute that on the night for 12 rounds is a different question."
In fact, I can see this fight playing out in a similar fashion to Wardley's first fight with Frazer Clarke, the incredible draw at the O2 Arena.
Olympian Clarke bossed the opening rounds behind his jab and tidy boxing, before Fab caught up with him and dropped him. After that, it became a crazy war.
I wouldn't be at all surprised to see Huni with a decent lead at the halfway point here. But the last few rounds are where this one is going to be decided...
MY PREDICTION
This is a huge test for Wardley. Anyone who thinks otherwise simply doesn't know boxing. Huni is the real deal.
And I can see a fight in which Huni does manage to outbox, frustrate and keep Wardley off him enough to win on points.
But there's a couple of things I keep coming back to. Huni's been badly hurt before by big left hooks - he was almost stopped in the final round by Kevin Lerena - and I've seen lesser fighters than Wardley clip him with big overhand rights. They bounced off him, but if Wardley lands one, they'll hurt him.
And those two punches - the big wide left hook and looping overhand right - are Wardley specials. He almost span David Adeleye's head off his shoulders with the former, and literally punched a dent in Frazer Clarke's head with the latter.
I like the uppercut to do some damage here too, given Huni's compact stance as he walks into range and throws.
The other thing I think may just prove key is the fact Huni's not had a full camp, flying halfway across the world on less than a month's notice.
As we get into the later rounds and he's got a lead to defend - at least in the way I'm seeing the fight - I just wonder if his engine may start to run out on him, allowing Wardley the opportunity he needs to land his bombs.
I think that's what we'll see. Huni looking good early, Wardley looking better late.
Prediction: Fabio Wardley by KO, rds 10-12