Sam Goodman kept his chances of a crack at the undisputed super bantamweight title alive with a unanimous decision victory (117-111, 117-113, 119-109) over Chainoi Worawut in Wollongong on Wednesday night.
Fighting in front of his hometown fans, Goodman turned back the challenge of the ultra-game Worawut to ensure he remains in the box seat to face pound-for-pound king Naoya Inoue later in the year.
Goodman fought through a suspected broken left hand, which could throw a spanner in the works for his Inoue plans, as well as some dangerous offence from his opponent to get the win.
MORE: All the results from Hall vs. Scott
In what was supposed to be the Goodman show, it was Worawut who made the faster start, catching the Aussie on several occasions in the opening round.
Worawut's strong attacks seemed to bait the normally defensively sound Goodman into some out-of-character flurries, although the local boy found some success to the body and with the jab in the third.
"Rock Man" appeared to disregard Goodman's offence at stages, standing in front of his opponent and looking to fire off single power shots.
A counter left hook made Worawut pay in the fourth but he was quickly back on the front foot, Goodman however finished the round strongly with another hook and an uppercut.
By the fifth, Worawut's output had slowed and his punches had less sting in them, seeing the cardio machine that is Goodman grow in confidence.
The Thai fighter's urgency grew again in the sixth but it came across as reckless at times in the face of Goodman's defence.
It was around this time Goodman's camp believe the fighter broke his left hand but his poker face was strong.
In the seventh, the pair exchanged strongly in the middle of the ring for an extended period, Worawut perhaps landing the slightly more meaningful shots.
Goodman enjoyed arguably his best round of the fight in the eighth, scoring with powerful combinations late in the round, though Worawut's composure remained.
"The Ghost" then caught Worawut in no man's land with a left before following up with the same punch shortly after, only for the visitor to get some of his own back via some strong uppercuts moments later.
That triggered a wild back-and-forth in which both men were required to shake off stiff shots to close out the ninth.
An already exciting scrap found another gear in the tenth as the pair went shot for shot at times before Worawut tested Goodman's chin with a powerful left hook.
Goodman closed out the 11th strongly on the back of a four-punch combination, although it wasn't enough to prevent Worawut pressing the action for long.
The final round was willing to the last bell, with both men scoring across the three minutes, though Goodman's in-and-out style may have got the better of it.
In the co-main event, Curtis Scott has knocked Barry Hall out in the first round to improve to 3-0 as a professional.
The cross-code showdown lasted just over a minute, with Scott's aggression proving too much for the 47-year-old former AFL star.
From the opening bell, Scott, 26, was in Hall's face and a left hand seemed to do the damage before a right hand wobbled "Big Bad Barry" shortly after, eventually sending him to the canvas.
Hall attempted to struggle to his feet but the referee waved off the bout as the big man's corner jumped into the ring to stop it.
With 2 first-round knockout defeats and a draw with Paul Gallen five years ago, it might be time for Hall, a former talented junior, to leave boxing behind.
As for Scott, he said he's already raring to get back in there, targeting a potential fight Sonny Bill Williams.
