Tough South African Kevin Lerena has been revealed as unbeaten Australian heavyweight hope Justis Huni's opponent in his high-profile Saudi Arabia appearance.
The Brisbane boxer (8-0) will face the interim WBC bridgerweight champion (30-2) on the Anthony Joshua-Francis Ngannou crossover clash in Riyadh on March 8.
Brisbane 24-year-old Huni fought only once in 2023, winning every round against Andrew Tabiti in Mexico.
The October clash was the first professional fight on foreign soil for the former amateur standout and first since signing with influential English promoter Eddie Hearn.
That pushed him to No.14 in the WBA charts and No.15 in the WBO and IBF's heavyweight rankings, where every other contender has had at least twice as many fights as him.
Victory against the seasoned South African would propel him further up the rankings and closer to a world title shot.
Lerena could be Huni's toughest fight yet. The 31-year-old claimed his bridgerweight belt last November, just two fights after scaring England's Daniel Dubois (20-2) when he floored the heavyweight world title challenger three times in the opening round.
Huni has been preparing with sparring sessions against Tasman Fighters compatriot Jai Opetaia, who was due to face Mairis Briedis for the IBF and Ring cruiserweight belts on the Tyson Fury-Oleksandr Usyk undisputed heavyweight fight in Saudi Arabia next Sunday (AEDT).
Injury to Fury has pushed that fight back to May 18 though, leaving Opetaia's camp scrambling to reschedule the highly anticipated rematch.
Gatton-based New Zealander David Nyika was also set to fight on that card.
Both he and Opetaia had pitched to instead fight on the Joshua-Ngannou March 8 showcase but those discussions are ongoing.
Meanwhile, WBO bantamweight world champion Jason Moloney is confident he will be fit to defend his belt in Perth on the undercard to the May 12 George Kambosos Jnr and Vasiliy Lomachenko fight for the vacant IBF lightweight crown.
Moloney had scans on both hands after narrowly prevailing in a brutal first defence of his belt against Saul Sanchez in Canada last month.
He told AAP he does not require surgery and will resume punching at the end of February.
Moloney will likely meet Filipino Reymart Gaballo, who is expected to become a mandatory challenger should he beat Thai journeyman Phai Pharob on home soil this weekend.
