Inoue – Goodman postponement: a fight that few will miss

Undisputed super bantamweight champion Naoya ‘Monster’ Inoue’s fight against Sam Goodman on December 24 will have to be postponed because the Australian suffered a cut over his left eye during their last sparring session. The two were supposed to meet at the Ariake Arena, Koto-Ku, in Tokyo, Japan.

No replacement?

It is not yet known if Inoue (28-0, 25 KOs) will find a replacement opponent to book the date and undercard. Not that there was much interest from non-Australian fans in seeing Inoue defend against the 26-year-old Goodman, as the fight was seen as a mismatch.

Fans wouldn’t complain if Inoue never rescheduled the fight with Goodman because this is not one of the names on the wish list of people the Japanese fighter will face.

They want Inoue to start fighting 50-50 fights, not 90-10. This is why Naoya is not popular outside of his native Japan. He never puts himself in a position where he can lose fighting guys who have a chance of beating him. He is not someone who takes risks.

Goodman had never defeated any notable opponent to acquire his number one ranking in the IBF and WBO. Boxing fans wanted to see Inoue pick a talented contender for a change, namely Murodjon Akhmadaliev or John Riel Casimero. Goodman was just another in the long list of disappointing opponents Inoue faced during his 12-year professional career.

Inoue has been taking his time moving up to 126 to face the dangerous talents in that division, and some believe he has stage fright, knowing he would be expected to fight these dangerous top predators:

Rafael Espinoza
Bruce Carrington
King Vargas
Stephen Fulton
Angel Leo
Brandon Figueroa
Sulaimaan Segawa

Is it asking too much for Inoue to fight one of these assassins? Many of these guys would be an absolute nightmare for Inoue, 31, which is why he is hesitant to move up to featherweight.

Goodman’s injury

Disaster. Sam Goodman suffered a cut eye in his last fight before the undisputed fight with Naoya Inoue. Goodman’s camp is now pushing to delay the fight scheduled for Christmas Eve in Tokyo. Goodman was scheduled to fly tomorrow #InoueGoodman pic.twitter.com/cdq6UpIMI8

-Ben Damon (@ben_damon) December 14, 2024