Australian heavyweight Lucas Browne may well have reached the end of his up and down career after being stopped in a round by New Zealander Hemi Ahio. The fight took place on yesterday’s big card in Perth, Australia, topped of course by Vasiliy Lomachenko’s brilliant stoppage win over a game but outclassed George Kambosos Jr.
Ahio, not a big guy at 6.0” tall, nevertheless had too much for the badly faded, 45 year old Browne, who stands 6’6.” Browne, who has now lost three in a row, all by stoppage, falls to 31-6(27) with the heavy defeat, with all of his losses coming inside the distance. 33 year old Ahio is now 22-1(17) and he has won three on the spin since suffering his only loss, this against Faiga Opelu back in October of 2022.
It will be interesting seeing how much Ahio can achieve in the sport. But for Browne, the end has surely come. A good, fun to watch puncher in his day, “Big Daddy” won a version of the heavyweight title with a win over Ruslan Chagaev, this in 2016. Browne faced some other big names from the sport, including James Toney (a badly faded but still durable version, with Browne winning a lopsided decision in 2013), Dillian Whyte (who stopped Browne in 2018), Junior Fa (a quick win for Browne), and Jarell “Big Baby” Miller (who stopped Browne in a fun fight that took place in March of last year).
Browne was a heavy-handed warrior who always tried his best. Browne also failed a drugs test some years ago. It is to be hoped Browne does do the sensible thing and calls it a career, as his punch resistance has completely gone. Browne added some excitement to the heavyweight division back in the day and it is to be hoped he has saved his money and can now enjoy a healthy and happy retirement.
It would be good to see Ahio box a bigger name in the future, so we can see just how good he is. There is always room for more heavyweights. Or maybe Ahio can try his hand at bridgerweight?
