Imam Khataev had to do it the hard way, but he got the job done in a brutal, back-and-forth clash with Durval Elias Palacio in Sydney, Australia.

The light-heavyweight pair fought on the undercard of George Kambosos Jr-Jake Wyllie at the Qudos Bank Arena, but it was Khataev (10-0, 9 KOs) who picked up the unanimous points victory with scores of 99-89 twice and 98-90. The fight was streamed live on DAZN.

Looking to make a statement in the opening televised bout, Khataev started fast and landed powerful shots, most notably a left to the body followed by a right to the head as Palacio (14-4, 11 KOs) tried to land a right over the top.

Palacio stood up to much of the early punishment he received from Khataev, and having been 12 rounds with Kevin Lele Sadjo last June, it was clear the Argentine wouldn't be put away easily.

Khataev, ranked No. 10 by The Ring at light-heavyweight, continued to land blistering combinations, but had to face adversity of his own in the third round after Palacio connected with a powerful one-two which had his man backing up against the ropes.

For all his success in the third, Palacio found himself on the deck early in the fourth after Khataev whipped a quick one-two of his own onto his opponent's jaw.

As a result of Khataev's efforts to finish the fight, the Russian had a cut open up over his right eye after clashing heads with Palacio, who once again came back with renewed energy toward the end of the round, pouring on another sustained attack.

Khataev came out for the fifth with a big, swelling welt over his left eye and looked to be taking deep breaths. In the middle of the round he had a point taken for hitting low and when he sat down after the sound to the bell, Khataev seemed to be in a world of trouble.

The swelling over Khataev's left was substantial and his breaths were getting deeper and deeper. The punch output continued for Khataev, the Sydney-based fighter having success to both the body and the head, in the sixth, but it was Palacio who pushed forward.

Palacio's pressure paid off in the seventh as his marching into Khataev's pushed resulted in a big right hand of his own connecting cleanly. And every time Khataev came back with a right hand, Palacio would respond with a shake of the head.

Through his exhaustion, however, Khataev's fundamentals continued to shine through. Combinations, counter-punching and footwork remained key for the home fighter. But again Palacio got through with a right, leaving his opponent stumbling and looking to hold on.

Though Palacio enjoyed success with the right hand, his shortcomings were laid bare in his efforts to finish Khataev off, the Tokyo 2020 bronze-medallist a little too deft in avoiding second-phase attacks.

Palacio, a glutton for punishment at this point, continued to ship huge shots of his own. Khataev would throw everything at his opponent but more head-shaking would be thrown his way in response.

In the final round, the M.O. was clear for Khataev: avoid Palacio's terminator-esque efforts in marching forward to land power punches. By the end of the bout, both men looked battered and bruised after 10 rounds of punishing action.

In the end, however, it was Khataev who was left barely celebrating after being awarded the unanimous decision win.

Teremoana Teremoana Jr made it seven wins from seven as a professional after stopping James Singh at the Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney.

A 2024 Olympian, much has been made about the progression of Teremoana Jr, who signed with Matchroom last November, and he backed up the hype with another stoppage win tonight.

It was Singh (12-6, 11 KOs) who landed the first meaningful shot of the fight, which took place on the undercard of George Kambosos Jr-Jake Wyllie, but Teremoana Jr (7-0, 7 KOs) struck first blood with a knockdown off a one-two later in the first round.

Once Singh rose to his feet, the onslaught continued from Teremoana Jr, who poured on a vicious attack which the referee elected to put a stop to almost immediately.

Efforts will now be made to get a step-up opponent in the ring for Teremoana Jr, who could quickly become one of the more exciting heavyweight prospects in the world.

Teremoana Jr said: "I wanted to have a brawl with him. I'm ready to go, someone please challenge me. Whoever's got the Australian title, call me out, I want that belt."

Promoter Eddie Hearn added: "We've got to get better than James Singh, he just wasn't good enough to stand up to the quality. He can't help himself but load up and get his man out of there as early as possible.

"We'd love an Australian heavyweight to challenge him."