He had a tense wait for the scorecards, but Australia's Huni (13-1, 7 KOs) edged out a majority decision on the scorecards (95-95, 96-94, 96-94) to inflict Frazer Clarke's third career defeat (9-3-1, 7 KOs).

It was a back-and-forth tussle but one the 27-year-old commanded the early control in. Huni outlanded Clarke 56-30 in the first three rounds, before a sudden shift midway through the fourth during an absorbing duel.

Huni threw a pair of one-two combinations in the pocket early, keeping their exchanges at close-range, looking to attack the body and armed with a quicker release against the more rugged man in Olympic bronze medalist Clarke, who finished the first frame stronger after having the Australian briefly up against the ropes.

David Haye on commentary noted Clarke was having 'somewhat of a distance problem' establishing rhythm behind his jab early in the second, while Huni clearly invested downstairs to stymie Clarke's forward momentum, the 34-year-old a step slow to throw and being punished for it.

Round three wasn't any better for the Briton, whose jab was being blocked but in the fourth, the pair traded leather centre ring and Clarke enjoyed sustained success with a barrage of uppercuts in the final minute, as his increasingly animated promoter and BOXXER chief Ben Shalom was throwing punches with him ringside.

"You know you can hurt him now," were the words from Joe Gallagher between rounds as Clarke finally had a foothold to build upon, with Huni vulnerable on the back foot and visibly feeling the pace midway through the fifth.

Clarke absorbed stinging shots as he trudged forward, while Huni was ticked off by the referee after straying low in the final half-minute. Gallagher warned his charge to stay defensively sound while firing back in tandem whenever Huni threw punches — easier said than done — as the punch statistics told their own story in round six.

Huni had landed more (89 of 217) than Clarke (58 of 175) and continued mixing body shots for good measure, even as the older man stepped to him, seeking an opening to seize upon.

"You're giving him too much time, don't allow him to set his feet, that's the only time he gets success," was the command from Huni's trainer Josh Arnold before round eight, imploring the younger man to use his athletic gifts and move, rather than give Clarke a static target to aim at.

He responded in kind with some bruising haymakers, uppercuts and fast one-two sweeping shots at close-range during the frame's first-half as Clarke's bounce in his step had slowly eroded.

"I need to see grit, desire, determination. Doesn't mean go like a headless chicken, [throw] a punch to hurt, not to survive," was the pep talk from Gallagher before the penultimate round, perhaps aware the Olympic medalist trailed on the cards mainly from output and willpower in the previous few frames, rather than anything special.

The punch stats showed Huni had a 34-shot advantage (134-100 connects) heading into the final round, Gallagher told Clarke he had three minutes to save his career and the Aussie weaved well on the move despite spots where the veteran sought to tee off on the front foot, making it overtly physical

CompuBox stats: Huni started fast, out-landing Clarke 67-43 over the first four rounds. However, Clarke stunned Huni at the end of the fourth round, and from there, the fight tightened. Over the next six rounds, Huni and Clarke were separated by three or less landed punches in five of the next six rounds. One judge scored the fight a 95-95 draw, while the other two judges scored the fight 96-94- both for Huni.