Undisputed super bantamweight champion Naoya ‘Monster’ Inoue’s fight against Sam Goodman on December 24 will have to be postponed because the Aussie suffered a cut to his left eye during his last sparring session. The two were supposed to meet at the Ariake Arena, Koto-Ku, in Tokyo, Japan.
No replacement?
There’s no word yet on whether Inoue (28-0, 25 KOs) will find a replacement opponent to save the date and card. It’s not like there was much interest from non-Australian fans to see Inoue defend against Goodman, 26, as the fight was seen as a mismatch.
Fans won’t complain if Inoue never reschedules the Goodman fight, as it’s not one of the names on people’s wish lists for the Japanese fighter to face.
They want Inoue to start fighting in 50-50 fights, not 90-10. Therefore, Naoya is not popular outside of his native Japan. He never puts himself in a position where he can lose by fighting guys who have a chance to beat him. He is not a risk taker.
Goodman has never beaten any notable opponents to earn his #1 ranking with the IBF and WBO. Boxing fans wanted to see Inoue take on a talented opponent for a change, namely Murodjon Akhmadaliev or John Riel Casimero. Goodman was just another in a long line of disappointing opponents Inoue faced during his 12-year professional career.
Inoue took his time moving up to 126 to face the dangerous talents in that division, and some believe he has stage fright, knowing he’s expected to fight these dangerous top predators:
Rafael Espinoza
Bruce Carrington
King Vargas
Stephen Fulton
Angelo Leo
Brandon Figueroa
Sulaimaan Segawa
Is it too much to ask for Inoue to fight one of these killers? Many of these guys would be an absolute nightmare for Inoue, 31, which may be why he’s hesitant to move up to featherweight.
Goodman’s injury
Disaster. Sam Goodman was cut over the eye in his final sparring before the undisputed fight with Naoya Inoue. Goodman camp is now pushing for a postponement of scheduled Christmas Eve fight in Tokyo. Goodman was due to fly out tomorrow #InoueGoodman pic.twitter.com/cdq6UpIMI8
— Ben Damon (@ben_damon) December 14, 2024
