Heavyweight hope Justis Huni has survived a last-round scare against an emotionally charged opponent before keeping his unbeaten record intact with a points win in Saudi Arabia.

The 24-year-old Queenslander, who was on the undercard ahead of Anthony Joshua's victory over ex-UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou in Riyadh on Saturday morning (AEDT), found himself being hit with a barrage of blows in the 10th round of his contest with Kevin Lerena.

The 31-year-old South African had decided to go ahead with the fight despite having announced on the eve of the contest his mother had recently died.

After putting up a solid display but clearly going into the last round behind on points, Lerena had been urged by his corner to "do it for your mother" and he responded to the exhortation by piling into a last-gasp attack on the unbeaten Australian.

But Huni managed to hold on, despite being seriously wobbled with one left hook, weathering the storm to deservedly land his ninth-straight victory with a unanimous points decision, being awarded the verdict 96-94, 96-94 and 98-92 on the judges' cards.

"I've done all the hard work in the gym and I'm glad my legs were strong enough to stick it out," Huni said after the fight.

The former amateur star felt he had the measure of the former IBO cruiserweight world champion, controlling most of the exchanges throughout the contest until Lerena's fiery last stand.

"I was expecting him to be tough when I came out here, but it was just a matter of time until I adjusted to him," Huni said.

Promoter Eddie Hearn has ambitious plans for the Brisbane prospect and wasn't overly concerned by the late scare.