Naoya Inoue’s historic run continues at a blistering pace.
The sport’s most active RING champion will defend his undisputed 122-pound throne against Australia’s Sam Goodman. Their championship bout will take place on December 24—Christmas Eve—at Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan. The fight was formally announced during a press conference held in Tokyo on Thursday.
ESPN+ will carry the show live in the US, an ongoing tradition for Inoue’s “Monster” events in Japan.
Inoue (28-0, 25 knockouts), The Ring’s no. 2-rated pound-for-pound fighter, will attempt his fourth overall defense of at least two 122-pound titles. The fight will also serve as his third defense of The Ring Championship, all of which will take place in an active 2023 campaign.
Goodman (19-0, 8 KOs), no. 3 at 122 by The Ring, will enter his first career title fight.
The program also includes WBO bantamweight titleholder Yoshiki Takei (11-0, 8 KOs). An opponent was not announced during Thursday’s press conference. Takei will make the second defense of the title he won from Jason Moloney on May 4 at the Tokyo Dome. The performance was headlined by Inoue’s sixth round knockout of Luis Nery (35-2, 27 KOs).
This event will be the sixth in a row where Inoue and Takei both appear. This is the third consecutive card where they will both compete in title fights.
Inoue and Goodman were able to reach an agreement to avoid a purse hearing scheduled for October 29. Goodman is the IBF mandatory challenger, a status he has held since a June 2023 win over Ra’eese Aleem. Their IBF title eliminator between undefeated challengers saw Goodman claim his best win to date.
Goodman has fought four times since then in his best effort to stay fresh for the biggest fight of his career.
Inoue fully unified the division with a tenth round knockout of Marlon Tapales last December 26 at Ariake Arena in Tokyo. He claimed the IBF and WBA belts, retained the WBC and WBO titles and filled The Ring championship vacancy.
With the win came inherited WBA and IBF obligations. Tapales was the no. 1-ranked IBF contender when he defeated Murodjon Akhmadaleiev last April 8 in San Antonio, Texas. Akhmadaliev (12-1, 9 KOs) has since worked his way to the WBA no. 1 position and was even ordered to face Inoue next. However, the sanctioning body has not yet called for a purse bid or furthered that status.
That opened the door for Goodman to receive his first career title shot more than a year after earning his spot in the lineup.
Inoue has won titles in four weight divisions, including undisputed reigns at 118 and 122. He has defended the Ring Championship twice this year and all four major belts at 122. Both were knockout victories over former title holders. Inoue survived his lone career knockout in a sixth-round knockout of Nery on May 4. That was followed by a seventh-round stoppage of TJ Doheny on September 3 at Ariake Arena.
