He tasted the canvas for the first time in his career but Wollongong's Sam Goodman pushed his unbeaten record to 11-0 with a unanimous decision win over Japan's Fumiya Fuse on Wednesday night.
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Goodman was in full command of the bout at the Newcastle Entertainment Centre when he walked into a straight left from the rugged southpaw late in the third round.
It caught him flush, but Goodman bounced to his feet and never looked in genuine strife despite being put down for the first time as a pro.
It left him with a bloody nose throughout, but the Albion Park local found his groove in the sixth round where he started landing the right had with regularity.
He closed the show from there, with a volley of body shots coming close to stopping Fuse in the 10th and final round.
The brave Japanese survived the onslaught, with Goodman claiming all rounds bar the third on all three judges scorecards.
It was the just second time in his last seven bouts that the 23-year-old left a result in the judges hands, with Fuse offering the the stiffest test of the world title prospect's still burgeoning career.
It saw him claim the IBF Intercontinental super-bantamweight title and marked the first defence of his WBO Oriental belt, with the victory likely to push him into the top 10 with both organisations.
In other featured bouts, Harry Garside defended his Australian lightweight crown with a seventh-round TKO victory over hard-nosed Tasmanian Layton McFerran, but it was Nikita Tsyzu who stole the show with a spectacular first round TKO win over Mason Smith.
In the main event, Melbournian Krris Tervieski survived a late rally from Paul Gallen to retain his Australian and Australasian heavyweight title.
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