In 26 professional bouts, the 36-year-old has a 25-1 record with 19 wins by knockout and is often credited as the hardest-hitting athlete training at Auckland’s City Kickboxing gym.
“With Hemi, I felt like it would come next year because I think we weren’t expecting Teremoana to go through this opposition the way that he’s doing it. I mean, even last time out, the opponent talked a great game, but as soon as he felt the power, he kind of wanted to get back on the plane to the States,” Hearn told the Herald.
“When you look at big fights over there, who are the big fights for Teremoana? Demsey McKean, Justis Huni, Joseph Parker in time. But these are good fighters that have good championship round experience. You want to try and get the rounds under your belt, but it’s very difficult to do when you’re knocking everybody out so quickly. So, we believe Hemi’s going to give him a strong test, and hopefully he can do some rounds in the process.
“He’s had well over double the amount of fights of Teremoana. He’s been around for a long time; he’s fought a plethora of different styles. He’s game; he can punch as well, and he’s coming to win. A lot of these guys, they talk a great game, and then they get in the ring with Teremoana, get hit, and then just decide that’ll do me. You’re not going to get that from Hemi. He’s a proud man, he’s a tough man, he’s a warrior, and he’s coming to fight.”
Ahio last fought in August against late-notice replacement Joe Ageli and claimed a third-round knockout. Before that, he had not fought for more than a year, so a quick turnaround will be welcomed by his camp.
Teremoana, on the other hand, has been kept busy with three fights already under his belt this year. And with Hearn and the Matchroom team tipping Teremoana as a future world champion, the undefeated heavyweight shapes up as a big part of them expanding their footprint Downunder, particularly after signing a broadcast deal with Fox Sports and Kayo that will see the bout available for subscribers to stream with no added pay-per-view cost. New Zealand viewers can stream it on DAZN.
“We are putting a lot of our eggs in this deal into the Teremoana basket because, I think, if we get it right, you’ve got a guy that could change the sport forever in [the] country. You know, the heavyweight division is different. You develop a world heavyweight champion, and you bring those big heavyweight world championship fights to Australia, it will change everything,” Hearn said.
“We’ve been getting our foot in the door, we’ve been learning a lot, but now it’s time in 2027 to start bringing some major pay-per-view fights to the country, and a lot of those conversations are happening now … obviously Teremoana’s going to be a huge part of that.”
Ahio, however, will be out to spoil those plans.
Christopher Reive joined the Herald sports team in 2017, bringing the same versatility to his coverage as he does to his sports viewing habits.