Big fight on the horizon for Naoya Inoue

NAOYA Inoueโ€™s ring return is on the verge of confirmation, with Australiaโ€™s Sam Goodman expected to face the undisputed king on Christmas Eve in Japan. Speaking to reporter Dan Rafael, Top Rankโ€™s 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 โ€œmajor fightโ€ teaser has led to fan speculation, given the dearth of star names around the weight class. Jesse โ€˜Bamโ€™ 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 wonโ€™t 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 Andersonโ€™s loss to Martin Bakole before providing an update on the Teofimo Lopez situation.ย 

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