Australian boxing heavyweights Justis Huni and Joe Goodall set to collide

Literally two minutes down the road from his home stands the Brisbane arena in which he will headline the most significant all-Australian heavyweight bout ever hosted in this country.

This is where Huni takes on Joe Goodall on June 15, with the winner to walk into the top 15 of two sanctioning bodies with the IBF Pan Pacific and WBO Oriental heavyweight titles on the line.

"Standing in here right now, I'm just looking around picturing the night and how lit up it's going to be, and how packed it is going to be. It gives me goosebumps," Huni said.

A win for Huni puts him in the world's top 15 and in the fast lane to a world title shot. Not bad for a 23-year-old who not so long ago was struggling to breathe when he went for a walk.

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This fight should have been staged in February. Those plans were derailed when Huni contracted COVID-19 during a United States training camp, and again upon his return home.

All that after the rising star's Olympic gold medal dream was dashed by a hand injury which was inflamed in a win over Paul Gallen last June.

"I was really thinking about it hey, thinking 'just my luck'. That was back when we had fights locked in," Huni said.

"I got hit with sickness, I had a niggling injury in my elbow, I was starting to think 'what's going on with me?' To be able to fly back to Australia, we had to test negative.

"The first time I did the test, it was still positive right before we were about to head back to Australia. We gave it a day, went back in for the test and I was negative. We came all the way back to Australia and I was feeling fine. I had one day in home quarantine, and a day after I was feeling the same symptoms again. Just my luck, I did a test and it came back positive again.

"It definitely wasn't as bad as how I had it in America. Just for the safety of everyone around me, that made the earlier fight get pushed back.

"Over in America was the worst. I'd done two weeks of solid training before I caught COVID. I felt like my fitness was getting up there, getting better, and then getting hit with COVID set me back so much.

"When I first started going for walks and slow jogging, I could barely breathe. It's a serious thing whether you believe it or not. It definitely knocked me back.

"Mate, since my last fight it has been an absolute rollercoaster. We're finally getting closer to the date, June 15, and it's getting exciting."

Goodall says this is "the biggest fight in Australian heavyweight boxing history". Their impending collision has for so long been regarded as a no-brainer.

Huni and Goodall have spent countless rounds in the ring together during sparring sessions. Who got the better of those rounds remains behind closed doors.

Today Goodall says he is a different beast having packed his bags and moved to Las Vegas to train with Kevin Barry, the man in Joseph Parker's corner when he won a world title in 2016.

"I got a little bit stale at Stretton. I was probably there a little bit too long," Goodall said.

"In life you go through changes, and you've got to make these changes at various times. I probably didn't make that change when it was time to change. I lingered for a little bit and it negatively impacted me.

"I've made the change now, I've shuffled my team around, I've got a new opportunity to train in Vegas, so it's a new lease for me, a new experience, a new world over there in Vegas, and I'll come back with a new style.

"Most of all, my mental health has been a lot better, my motivation, my willingness to learn, all these different things that come with the change of environment have been really good for me."

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