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\u2019s City Kickboxing gym.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith Hemi, I felt like it would come next year because I think we weren\u2019t expecting Teremoana to go through this opposition the way that he\u2019s 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,\u201d Hearn told the Herald.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen 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\u2019s very difficult to do when you\u2019re knocking everybody out so quickly. So, we believe Hemi\u2019s going to give him a strong test, and hopefully he can do some rounds in the process.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s had well over double the amount of fights of Teremoana. He\u2019s been around for a long time; he\u2019s fought a plethora of different styles. He\u2019s game; he can punch as well, and he\u2019s 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\u2019ll do me. You\u2019re not going to get that from Hemi. He\u2019s a proud man, he\u2019s a tough man, he\u2019s a warrior, and he\u2019s coming to fight.\u201d<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are putting a lot of our eggs in this deal into the Teremoana basket because, I think, if we get it right, you\u2019ve 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,\u201d Hearn said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve been getting our foot in the door, we\u2019ve been learning a lot, but now it\u2019s 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\u2019s going to be a huge part of that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ahio, however, will be out to spoil those plans.<\/p>\n