NAOYA Inoue’s ring return is on the verge of confirmation, with Australia’s Sam Goodman expected to face the undisputed king on Christmas Eve in Japan. Speaking to reporter Dan Rafael, Top Rank’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 “major fight” teaser has led to fan speculation, given the dearth of star names around the weight class. Jesse ‘Bam’ 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 Davis’ 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 won’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 Anderson’s loss to Martin Bakole before providing an update on the Teofimo Lopez situation.
