NAOYA Inoueโs ring return is on the verge of confirmation, with Australiaโs Sam Goodman expected to face the undisputed king on Christmas Eve in Japan. Speaking to reporter Dan Rafael, Top Rankโs main man, Bob Arum, reiterated that there is a huge fight in the pipeline for Inoue in April in Las Vegas. Bob said something similar after Inoue defeated TJ Doheny at the start of September.
The โmajor fightโ teaser has led to fan speculation, given the dearth of star names around the weight class. Jesse โBamโ Rodriguez has a fight scheduled for November, but he would need to jump up in weight (which he has done in the past) to tackle Inoue, plus the Texan is handled by a rival promoter.
Japanese rival Junto Nakatani has emerged as a serious threat, but that bout is unlikely to garner much Stateside interest. Ever since Floyd Mayweather mischievously threw Gervonta Davisโ name into the mix as a possible Inoue opponent, the link continues between the pair every time a fight date is on the horizon, no matter how unrealistic it would actually be.
One man who wonโt be celebrating the Inoue-Goodman fight, or anything thereafter, is WBA mandatory Murodjon Akhmadaliev, who is waiting for his shot with decreasing patience. Bob Arum, meanwhile, has had a busy week, discussing his lack of a role in Jared Andersonโs loss to Martin Bakole before providing an update on the Teofimo Lopez situation.ย