JUST weeks after his initial pullout, Australia’s Sam Goodman’s rescheduled crack at undisputed super-bantamweight king Naoya Inoue was back on track for January 24. One month later, little lost. Or so it seemed.
Last night, it was revealed by Goodman’s promoters, No Limit Boxing, that the second date has also been squashed as the mandatory challenger for the WBO and IBF versions of the titles had suffered a reopening of the cut and we were back to square one.
With Inoue’s plans taking a significant hit, it appears that if a replacement foe can be found, then the Ariake Arena show will proceed as planned, keeping Inoue’s 2025 on the road.
The bout -viewed by some as a pesky obligation that ‘The Monster’ would glide through and on to better things- was originally planned for December 24 (Christmas Eve), also in Tokyo’s Ariake venue, before Goodman suffered a cut in sparring shortly before he was due to fly over to Japan. Stitches were required, which have split once again, forcing a second postponement or possible cancellation.
This is a huge blow for both parties. Goodman, 19-0 (8 KOs), is on the brink of losing the opportunity of a lifetime. Even though he is mandated, this is boxing, and opportunities can disappear altogether if missed too often.
As for Inoue, (28-0, 25 KOs), his co-promoter Bob Arum has been floating a potential future all-Japanese clash between his man and Junto Nakatani, or a Las Vegas outing versus David Alan Picasso. The 31-year-old multi-weight king is unlikely to hang around for too long as bumper career paydays await and the likes of WBA mandatory MJ Akhmadaliev close in waiting for his shot at glory.
