Justis Huni puts on a boxing clinic to cruise past a stubborn Joseph Goodall

Justis Huni may have endured a tumultuous build up to his clash with Joseph Goodall, but the Australian heavyweight prospect had no trouble seeing off his stubborn rival in Brisbane. 

Last week, the 23-year-old’s home in southern Brisbane was shot up in a terrifying drive-by attack in the early hours of the morning, although none of the 10 people inside the property were hurt. 

Despite the horrifying ordeal, Huni was able to focus on the task at hand and put on a boxing clinic to see off his 29-year-old rival on Wednesday night.

Huni showcased his lightning-fast speed over the course of the 10-round affair, landing countless bodyshots which had a clear impact on his older opponent as the bout wore on.

It was no surprise, then, when the judges awarded the fight in Huni’s favour, unanimously scoring the bout 100-90, 98-92, 98-93. 

The former sparring partners finished the 10th and final round at Brisbane’s Nissan Arena on Wednesday in a flurry of punches, Huni’s head cut by a head clash and Goodall’s left eye all but closed.

But Huni’s workrate – he landed 194 punches in total – precision and speed proved too much as he secured an unanimous points decision to move into the top 15 rankings in three of the sport’s four sanctioning bodies.

It was the 23-year-old’s first fight since beating Paul Gallen last June – a hand injury which cost him a Tokyo Olympics campaign, two bouts of COVID-19 and even a drive-by shooting at his family home last week conspiring to interrupt his rise.

‘That’s everything and more,’ Huni said of his comeback bout.

‘I was looking for a challenge and he gave me one.

The 23-year-old heavyweight prospect had to contend with a drive-by shooting last week

However, he showed no signs of mental fatigue with a boxing masterclass in Brisbane

‘We were expecting him to come out and push the fight, bring some dirty tactics, but we got there man.’

The result improved the Brisbane talent’s record to 6-0 while inflicting fellow former amateur world championship medallist Goodall’s first professional loss in his ninth fight.

Their pedigree, and Goodall’s year-long rejuvenation in the United States in the lead-up, meant the fight was billed as the country’s biggest heavyweight battle in more than a century.

And the pair attempted to live up to it, Goodall countering as Huni went into overdrive with combinations to his former sparring partner’s body and head.

Huni dominated from start to finish and earned himself a unanimous victory on Wednesday

Goodall cut Huni’s eye in the fourth round but Goodall’s left eye was almost closed by the end of the sixth round, Huni throwing combinations usually reserved for boxers 30kg lighter.

A head clash then ensured blood poured in the final two rounds as both men chased a knockout without success, Huni still appearing remarkably fresh when the bell rung.

Huni has been hyped as the country’s best heavyweight world title prospect since claiming the national title on debut in 2020.

The young hopeful celebrates after wining the WBO Oriental and IBF Pan-Pacific Regional title

That momentum had stalled during his year on the sidelines, however he’s now conceivably within a few fights of a world title shot.

Earlier in the night entertaining middleweight Andrei Mikhailovich called out Michael Zerafa after dominating tricky Venezuelan Ernesto Espana.

The Russian-born New Zealander produced a devastating third-round knockout to move to 18-0, inflicting just Espana’s fourth loss in a 33-fight career that’s netted 27 knockouts.