Inoue to defend undisputed 122 title vs. mandatory Sam Goodman
A win by 'The Monster' would send him to Las Vegas for a fight in April
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Naoya Inoue will defend the undisputed junior featherweight title against IBF and WBO mandatory challenger Sam Goodman on Dec. 24 at Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Inoue co-promoter Top Rank announced on Wednesday night.
The timing of Top Rank’s announcement coincided with an Ohashi Promotions news conference the fighters were attending in Tokyo, where it was Thursday afternoon.
The card will stream in on ESPN+ in the United States in the early morning hours of Christmas Eve.
In the co-feature, Yoshiki Takei (10-0, 8 KOs), 28, a Japanese southpaw, will make his second WBO bantamweight title defense against an opponent to be named. He will be on an Inoue undercard for his sixth consecutive fight, including winning the 118-pound belt via unanimous decision over Jason Moloney on the Inoue-Nery undercard and making his first defense in a unanimous decision over former flyweight titlist Daigo Higa on the Inoue-Doheny show.
Inoue-Goodman has been expected as the IBF had ordered the mandatory defense and the sides had been in the process of wrapping up a deal in recent days despite the IBF’s scheduling of a purse on Oct. 29 that will be canceled.
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The fight will be third of the year for Inoue, who kicked off 2024 in May at the Tokyo Dome by defending the undisputed crown via sixth-round knockout of former titlist and WBC mandatory challenger Luis Nery, who shockingly dropped Inoue for the first time in his career in the opening round before getting beaten down and knocked out.
“The Monster” returned to the ring on Sept. 3 and stopped former titlist TJ Doheny in the seventh round, also at Ariake Arena, where Inoue will box for the fifth time in six fights.
Inoue (28-0, 25 KOs), 31, a Japanese mega star, is a four-division champion and a two-division undisputed champion many view as the pound-for-pound king. He is 23-0 with 21 stoppages in world title fights and riding a nine-fight knockout streak.
Goodman (19-0, 8 KOs), 26, of Australia, notched his most notable wins in the first two of his four bouts in 2023 when he won a 10-round decision over Doheny followed by a 12-round decision over then-undefeated Ra’eese Aleem in a title eliminator.
The fight will take place despite pushback from WBA mandatory challenger and former unified titlist Murodjon Akhmadaliev (12-1, 9 KOs), 29, of Uzbekistan, who was previously ordered to face Inoue before the WBA ignored its own order and allowed Inoue’s optional defense against Doheny to proceed with its belt still at stake.
Akhmadaliev’s team has notified the WBA that it is prepared to take legal action if the organization does not enforce his mandatory, although Inoue could vacate the WBA belt and move forward with Goodman anyway.
If Inoue wins, Top Rank chairman Bob Arum said the plan is to have him then make a defense in April in Las Vegas for his third fight there and the fourth of his career in the United States.
Arum told Fight Freaks Unite that Top Rank president Todd duBoef has been in conversations with Bill Hornbuckle, the CEO of MGM Resorts International, about having Inoue fight at either the MGM Grand Garden Arena or T-Mobile Arena.
For that bout Arum said Inoue would “fight the best junior featherweight around in that fight and it will be a massive fight.”
Arum said the belief is that many of Inoue’s fans from Japan would make the trip to Las Vegas to see him fight, comparing it to the influx of Japanese baseball fans who have traveled to Los Angeles to see baseball superstar Shohei Ohtani play for the Dodgers.
“We assume that if Inoue fights in the United States, particularly in Las Vegas, (there would be) a tremendous, tremendous demand from fans from Japan who would fly over to the United States to watch him fight,” Arum said.
Arum downplayed any threat from Akhmadaliev, suggesting that he could be Inoue’s April opponent.
“That's typical nonsensical behavior, which happens very often in boxing,” Arum said of Akhmadaliev’s threat of litigation against the WBA. “If I were Vadim (Kornilov), who’s the manager of Akhmadaliev, I would not pursue that course. But I would be looking to start negotiations for an April fight with Inoue and without litigation, without any nonsense, because I think that’s probably the best way to go. But again, you know, boxing being boxing, and the testosterone level goes really high, you can’t count on everybody to make the right decision.”
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Inoue will be too much for Goodman it will be a interesting fight while it lasts
Hey Dan,
DAZN is offering a reup for $10/month for a year. I'm contemplating it, after canceling my sub earlier this year after the 5 x 5 debacle.
I like this weekend's Catterall-Prograis fight and the upcoming Zurdo card. Why else should I reup? Can you give a hint or preview on any fights in the works on DAZN over the next six months?
Thanks,
Mark in LA