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Justis Huni defeats Joe Goodall: ’Masterclass’ puts the world on notice

An Aussie boxer was at his deadly best in a one-way display that now has him ready to take on the world and fight for a world title.

Andrew McMurtry and James McKern
8 min read
June 16, 2022 - 6:26AM
Justis Huni and Joe Goodall are ready to go. Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images
Justis Huni and Joe Goodall are ready to go. Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images

The fight, billed as the biggest heavyweight clash in Australia in decades, lived up to the pre-fight hype as Justis Huni and Joe Goodall put on a show in Brisbane.

Huni claimed the unanimous decision victory (100-90, 98-92, 98-93) in what was a 10-round epic with the two men standing and trading bombs in the final 10 seconds of the fight.

Watch Heavyweights Justis Huni vs Joseph Goodall battle for the WBO Oriental and IBF Pan-Pacific Regional titles. Wednesday 15 June from 7PM AEST LIVE with Main Event on Kayo Sports & Foxtel. ORDER NOW >

Huni’s speed was the difference maker in the fight as he picked Goodall’s body apart early on before moving his attack towards the left eye of his opponent.

Goodall, battling fatigue, was searching for one killer blow right down to the final bell but his radar simply couldn’t find its target.

Huni will now move into the top 15 in the IBF, WBO and WBC rankings, meaning he is now eligible to fight for the world title.

Main event round-by-round

R1: Huni went to work early on the body of Goodall and landed the more telling blows over the top with a big right hand and jab landing clean. 10-9 Huni

R2: The speed of Huni is getting the better of Goodall and saw him land several clean shots, his body attacks will take a toll. Goodall was more productive in the second and isn’t afraid of the power Huni has. 20-18 Huni

R3: Huni continues to get through the defences of Goodall with speed and precision, Goodall looks worn down already from the body shots and. 30-27 Huni

R4: Goodall’s best round yet, landed some of his most telling shots. Huni’s speed saw him counter on multiple occasions and finish stronger. 40-36 Huni

R5: The pace of the fight through the opening five rounds has been electric and couple with the body blows from Huni, Goodall is showing signs of slowing down. 50-45 Huni

R6: Goodall’s left eye looking worse for wear, but he’s showing just how much of a warrior he is here. Huni’s speed causing massive headaches. 60-54 Huni

R7: The corner of Goodall asked for the dog to come out, unfortunately it was the bite of Huni that struck over and again as he landed multiple telling blows. 70-63 Huni

R8: Goodall has incredible heart, but it’s one-way traffic for Huni in this one. “He’s turning this into a clinic,” Ben Damon said. “It’s a masterclass,” Jeff Fenech added. 80-72 Huni

R9: An inadvertent headknock at the end of the last round opened up a cut on the head of Huni, but that didn’t slow him down as he continued his assault on Goodall. 90-81

R10: Goodall knew what he needed entering the final frame and he went in hunt of the killer blow, but Huni’s evasiveness and speed once again came to the fore. 99-91.

‘KO of the year’ stuns Aussie boxing

Andrei Mikhailovich has done it again.

The 24-year-old Kiwi promised to steal the show before Goodall Vs Huni and did an excellent job, finishing Venezuelan Ernesto Espana within three rounds with a hellacious right hand.

It was yet another huge finish for the Russian-born New Zealander.

Could it even be KO of the year so far? You tell us.

‘You’re boxing like a drunk’

2008 Olympian Luke Boyd has had a successful return to the ring, defeating Shamal Ram Anuj in four rounds.

It was far from the prettiest fight you’ve ever seen as Anuj kept trying to fight it at close range while Boyd was swinging from the fences.

After the second round, Boyd’s team said: “You’re an Olympian and you’re boxing like a drunk”.

It saw Boyd put the pedal to the floor, knocking Anuj down twice in the third.

While the fight was allowed to continue, Anuj’s team had seen enough by the fourth when he fell over seemingly from exhaustion, throwing in the towel and handing the Aussie his 10th win.

Goodall drama before stadium entry

Joe Goodall’s car pulled up to the stadium, but the challenger refused to get out.

As the fights inside went on, Main Event’s Ben Damon announced Goodall wouldn’t be walking in the door after members of his party were reportedly refused entry into the stadium by the promoters.

But with the early card racing through quickly, Aussie boxing legend found the late arrivals a bit weird.

“A little bit of drama in the building because Joe Goodall is here, but he’s sitting in a car at the moment out the front refusing to head in, because members of his party have not been allowed access by the promoters of this event,” Main Event’s Ben Damon said.

Only minutes later Goodall was seen emerging from the car, grabbing his gear and heading inside all smiles. Justin Huni wasn’t too far behind him.

Damon and Jeff Fenech said it was a bit strange for such a big fight.

“I don’t know what has transpired and I don’t know what the negotiations have been able to do, but it does look like he’s happy to head in now and take his place,” Damon said.

“He’s pretty relaxed, but he’s coming in pretty late,” Fenech said.

“This is quite bizarre that these two heavyweights have left their run so late,” Damon added.

Gipp wins by the closest margin you can imagine

We’ve got a contender for the fight of the night after Jack Gipp won the closest of decisions over Francis Waitai in a brilliant super middleweight clash.

By the end of the second round, Gipp had blood streaming from Waitai’s nose but the New Zealander kept working hard.

Gipp was selecting and accurate with his punches, while Waitai threw everything he had at the undefeated Aussie particularly late.

If it went any longer, Waitai may have pinched the victory but Gipp held on.

The judges gave it a 57-57, 58-56x2 to Gipp in about the closest result you can imagine.

Huni 2.0 is an absolute beast

Justis Huni (left), father and trainer Rocki (middle) and cousin Hone Huni set to launch his pro career Picture Supplied
Justis Huni (left), father and trainer Rocki (middle) and cousin Hone Huni set to launch his pro career Picture Supplied

Hone Huni, the cousin of Justis, has made a statement start to his career, dismantling Thomas Wilkins early in the second round.

The super middleweight has lost the best part of 60kg but looked right at home in the ring as he dropped Wilkins in the first round.

It was a thumping debut for Huni who went to work, earning the finish when the ref realised Wilkins had had enough.

As for Wilkins, if you’re going to come out Baby Shark, you better bring it in the ring.

Ugly finish ‘our sport doesn’t need’

Two boxers almost come to blows
Two boxers almost come to blows
The fight threatened to overflow. Photo: Fox Sports
The fight threatened to overflow. Photo: Fox Sports

The Huni-Goodall undercard has ended with a spiteful bang after Toese Vousiutu defeated Marvin Feterika via TKO in the first round.

It was a mismatch from the start as Feterika took the fight on one week’s notice and was gassed almost instantly after three years out of the ring.

When haymakers didn't work, Vousiutu treated his rival like a punching bag, leaving the ref no choice but to call the fight.

But while the fight wasn’t over, the fighters still wanted to throw down.

Vousutu appeared to mock Feterika and then the corners nearly go involved.

“This is what our sport doesn’t need,” Aussie boxing legend Jeff Fenech said.

Fighter wins amid baby whirlwind

Austin Aokuso has defeated Louis Marsters in the first fight of the broadcast despite having a baby yesterday.

Aokuso won very round on every card, despite going from the weigh in to the birth of his child.

And now he’s got the job done early on this card — that’s a hell of a 24 hours for Aokuso.

Glove drama as ‘dirty’ accusations ramp up

It would not be a boxing card without some glove drama before the men throw down and Huni vs Goodall is no different.

Huni’s promoter Dean Lonergan threw a spanner into the works earlier in the day as the teams signed off on the gloves, calling for the officials to watch out for the last minute swapping of gloves out of bags, intentional fouls and allowing for representatives of each camp to watch wraps being put on.

It comes after Lonergan lit the fuse earlier in the week at the press conference, calling Goodall’s trainer Kevin Barry “a master of all the dark arts of boxing”.

“Kevin, in my opinion, is a master trainer who would have done a massive job on Joe,” Lonergan said at the time. “What Kevin brings to the table those with a willingness to win and do anything to win.

“I’ve seen this happen before, Kevin’s trained guys for the past who I thought were mediocre fighters and turned them into absolute animals and guys will do what they had to do to win, whether it be elbowing, whether it be headbutting, whether it be low blows, whether it be hitting behind the head, Kevin is a master of all the dark arts of boxing.”

Huni Vs Goodall is here. Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images
Huni Vs Goodall is here. Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images

But the Goodall camp launched its own mind games in the glove sign off, demanding that Huni’s custom gloves be weighed to ensure they are 10 ounces.

The gloves were weighed at a local Brisbane restaurant as it was an unorthodox request to weigh the gloves.

They weighed in 5 grams over the 10 ounce limit. The lighter gloves are the easier they are to knock an opponent out as there is less padding in and a greater surface area for strikes.

However, in an interview with Fox Sports, Lonergan also said Barry was a master of glove manipulation.

“They’ve got a compound gloves, it’s half foam and half horsehair,” Lonergan said.

“What he’ll do is he’ll separate the glove and the knuckle, so he’ll spread the horsehair and the foam away from the knuckle so it’s like knuckles coming through the glove – it’s f***ing dangerous.”

How to watch

If you’re not down at Nissan Arena in Brisbane, the best way to watch is via Foxtel Main Event or Kayo.

Watch Heavyweights Justis Huni vs Joseph Goodall battle for the WBO Oriental and IBF Pan-Pacific Regional titles with Main Event on Kayo Sports & Foxtel. ORDER NOW >

The undercard starts at about 6pm, followed by the main card from 7pm. And depending on the earlier fights, the main event is expected at around 9.30-10pm AEST.

Main Card

From 7pm AEST

Justis Huni defeated Joseph Goodall – via unanimous decision (100-90, 98-92, 98-93)

Andrei Mikhailovich defeated Ernesto Espana via TKO, Round 3 for the IBF Pan Pacific and WBO Global middleweight titles

Luke Boyd defeated Shamal Ram Anuj via TKO — Round 4, 2.40 for the WBA Oceania super bantamweight title

Jack Gipp defeated Francis Waitai via majority points decision (57-57, 58-56x2)

Hone Huni defeated Thomas Wilkins via TKO — Round 2, 0.41

Undercard

Toese Vousiutu defeated Marvin Feterika via TKO — Round 1, 2.15

Austin Aokuso defeated Louis Marsters via unanimous decision (40-36x3)

Dan Hill defeated Bryce McLachlan via majority decision (38-38, 39-37x2)

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Original URL: https://www.news.com.au/sport/boxing/justis-huni-vs-joe-goodall-live-glove-drama-as-dirty-accusations-ramp-up/news-story/523c6ce8b41fa59017e7a074f73ab1ff