Sam Goodman stops Mark Schleibs in front of packed house at the WEC

Following a build-up cloaked in animosity, Goodman vowed to show his class against the 30-year-old Schleibs and it ultimately proved a mismatch.

Schleibs looked tentative from the jump, while Goodman was relentless in pinning his rival against the ropes and unleashing countless flurries that almost saw the fight stopped.

Schleibs' corner implored their charge to show something or risk the towel going in at the end of the third round, and the Victorian didn't see the next bell.

"I knew it'd come out pretty fast and I think he thought he'd try and probably walk me on early," Goodman said.

"It took me a minute to just get my timing and, after a minute, I saw everything I had to see and I could go in with a good pace.

"People want to say I fought differently or whatever or ask a few questions [about it], but it was exactly what I always do. I just got to do it a bit quicker.

"I've been fighting world-class operators, that's what a lot of people forget when they go on about stoppages.

"I'm fighting world-class guys, and it's not as easy as getting them out of there in one round. It takes a bit of time, it was just a whole lot quicker tonight."

The result was what many expected, but how Goodman would handle the build-up, all of Schleibs trash talk and the pressure of headlining at home were all question marks.

In the end he did it on his ear, confirming that Schleibs never got in his head or under his skin.

"It's never emotional for me," Goodman said.

"A lot of people were thinking I was getting emotional, it was just a side of myself I got to show that I don't usually get to show. I haven't had someone come and talk shit to me.

"We fought a couple of Americans last year and I was prepared for it, they were probably the two nicest blokes out of America.

"It was something I thought would be coming a lot earlier and it came in Mark Schleibs and I handled it how I always knew I'd handle it.

"He didn't get to me at all and it showed in my performance."

It amounts to a complete clean-out of the domestic stocks, with Albion Park's hero saying he's now solely focused on world title glory.

"It felt amazing, it was better than I thought it would be fighting [in Wollongong]," he said.

"I've called for it for a long time and it exceeded expectations, the turn out tonight was crazy and it was good to just go out and do what I do and show what I'm about.

"I showed the level I'm on and where I'm going and you know what we want next. World titles.

"I've been mandatory for almost a year now and I think I deserve my shot and that's what we're going to be pushing for.

"Wherever it is, whoever it is, it's world titles. That's what I want."

No Limit CEO George Rose had called the bout an audition for Wollongong with a view to bringing Inoue to Australia for an undisputed super-bantamweight title showdown next door at WIN Stadium.

That will take some coaxing, with Inoue set to face Mexican Luis Nery in May.

A win would no doubt see the pound-for-pound star entertain a move up a division to featherweight but Goodman remains the mandatory contender for Inoue's IBF and WBO straps.

However it goes down, Goodman can tick off a major bucket list item in headlining a pay-per-view card at the venue barely a nine-iron away from where he used to pull beers at the Steelers Club to top up his boxing income.

Rose said it's almost certain that Goodman's first outing as a headliner in Wollongong will not be his last.

"The most excited I've been for fights is the [Tim] Tszyu world title fights where we've seen the crowd go nuts," Rose said.

"I haven't seen a crowd in Australian boxing stand up the way that they did when Sam Goodman entered the ring tonight.

"The atmosphere, I actually just got goosebumps again at the thought of how it was when he was walking to the ring.

"That's what we love about working with Sam Goodman because he brings that. Not many people are able to take that responsibility and headline a fight the way that he did, let alone in his hometown.

"He owned the moment, he owned the week, and he owned every opportunity that he had. Tonight was amazing, and not many people could do what Sammy did tonight.

"We came to Wollongong, it stacked up to everything that we'd hoped it would be, now I want to come back. I want to come back for a world title fight."

Wollongong rising star Zeke Campbell made a literal fine fist of his pay-per-view debut on Wednesday night, out-slugging game Melbournian Laban Stringer over six rounds at the WEC.

The 20-year-old NSW welterweight champion claimed five of the six rounds on two cards, with the third judge giving the local four of the six for a unanimous decision victory.

In front of a parochial Wollongong crowd, Stringer proved game, keeping Campbell on the ropes for much of the fight, but the local proved more than comfortable at close quarters throughout.

Barring a decent hook that saw him briefly wobbled in the third round, Campbell never looked like surrendering his undefeated record as he moved to 5-0.

"He said he was coming for a war and he definitely came for a war, it was a good tough six rounds," Campbell said.

"I was just a bit more skillfull, a bit more powerful, a bit too slick for him and just took him to school a little bit. That's boxing.

"I definitely felt a few shots he threw, but I just stuck in there. That's my toughness, you need more than one or two to get me out of there.

"I felt quite comfortable fighting off the ropes, if I didn't feel comfortable I wouldn't have been there. I got the job done, 5-0 and onto the next."

In front of a big home crowd, and much larger TV audience, Campbell said the performance shows he's ready for whatever is put in front of him.

"It was definitely the biggest crowd I've fought on so far and I think it just made me switch on a bit more," Campbell said.

"The bigger the crowd the more I come alive.

"I was pretty happy with my performance. I could have got off the ropes a little bit, but I got the job done and put on a performance that let everyone know what I can do.

"I showed I can box if I want a box, if it's a war I love a war. Whatever's next is whatever my coach and my team decide.

"Whatever they come up with, I'm down, I'm ready."

Both men promised it wouldn't last long and it proved the case, with Scott ending the bout with a counter-left to the temple of his much bigger opponent in the second round.

Leilua could not regain his feet having been picked apart in the opening round by a sharp-looking Scott, who subsequently called out AFL great Barry Hall.

It remains to be seen whether the former Coleman Medallist answers the call, but Scott showed enough to suggest he won't be one-and-done in the ring.

In an absolute war in the co-main event, Mexican-based Venezuelan Edry Saavedre produced a stunning stoppage of world-rated Hardman.

In a back-and-forth war that looked even through eight rounds, Saavedra - a $5 outsider with the bookies - unleashed a flurry late in round eight.

It came after the 10-second warning, with Hardman desperate to survive but giving referee Les Fear no choice but to step in.

The official time of stoppage was 2.99 but you couldn't criticise Fear for calling it with Hardman out on his feet.

Having looked to reboot a world-title push, it'll be a case of back to the drawing board for the man from Caboolture.

No Limit CEO dangled the carrot of a potential bout with pay-per-view draw Nikita Tsyzu for the winner of the super-welterweight showdown.

Koen Mazoudier now sits in the box seat for the most sought-after fight on the domestic scene after claiming a fifth round TKO victory over Travis Druce.

The slick Druce started and looked to claim the opening round, but Mazoudier's experience told from there as he claimed the next three rounds.

He imposed his will further in the fifth, with Druce's coach Anthony Redward throwing in the towel after Mazoudier landed a hard left hook that wobbled his charge.

It was a good stoppage, with Druce no longer in the fight at that point, while it was an impressive first outing out of Joel Keegan's Complete Boxing stable that's also the home of Goodman.