Notebook: Goodman cut, needs 4 stitches, fight with Inoue is off
Shields defense set; heavyweight Teremoana aims to impress; Usyk-Fury 2 undercard bout canceled over positive test; Quick hits; Show and tell
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Junior featherweight contender Sam Goodman, the IBF and WBO mandatory challenger, suffered a nasty cut over his left eye in a sparring session on Saturday morning Australian time and has been forced to withdraw from his upcoming fight against undisputed champion Naoya Inoue.
They were supposed to square off on Dec. 24 (ESPN+) at Ariake Arena in Tokyo, but Goodman suffered the gash under his eyebrow in his final sparring session before he was to break camp at home in Australia to fly to Tokyo ahead of the fight.
“It was a freak accident and got cut, resulting in four stitches,” Goodman said in a brief video posted to social media. “If I had it my way I’d like to proceed with the fight but taking on a guy like. … I’m absolutely devastated to be doing this but it is what it is.
“I just want to say sorry to everyone who was coming over; to Inoue and his team as well. I know they would have been preparing hard for a good fight. I just don’t want my opportunity to go anywhere. I want to fight this guy. Hopefully, we can get it on soon as soon as this cut heals up and make this fight happen.”
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It has not been determined whether promoters Ohashi Promotions, Teiken Promotions and Top Rank will postpone the card or look for a late replacement to take Goodman’s place on a little over a week’s notice.
“The situation is fluid,” Top Rank vice president Carl Moretti told Fight Freaks Unite on Friday night, although it was his view the show probably would be postponed. He said he was waiting to hear back from Teiken’s Akihiko Honda with an update.
The fight would be the third of the year for Inoue (28-0, 25 KOs), 31, the Japanese mega star, four-division champion and two-division undisputed champion, 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 would box for the fifth time in six fights if he still fights on Dec. 24.
Goodman (19-0, 8 KOs), 26, of Australia, has won two fights in 2024 and notched his most notable wins in the first two of his four bouts in 2023, a 10-round decision over Doheny followed by a 12-round decision over then-undefeated Ra’eese Aleem in a title eliminator.
If the card is postponed that means the co-feature of WBO bantamweight titlist Yoshiki Takei (10-0, 8 KOs), 28, a Japanese southpaw, in his second defense against Yuttapong Tongdee (15-0, 9 KOs), 31, of Thailand, also faces a delay.
Inoue’s schedule called for him to fight Goodman on Christmas Eve and, pending a victory, defend against an opponent to be determined in Las Vegas in his fourth career fight in the United States.
Shields taking on Perkins
Claressa Shields, the consensus No.1 female boxer pound-for-pound, will defend the WBC heavyweight title and also vie for the vacant WBO and WBA belts against Danielle Perkins on Feb. 2 (DAZN) in the main event of a card dubbed “Super Brawl” — one week before the Super Bowl — at Dort Financial Center in Flint, Michigan, Shields’ hometown, Salita Promotions announced Thursday night.
“I feel so blessed at this point in my life and my career,” Shields said. “But make no mistake — every blessing came with blood, sweat, and tears behind it. My home in Flint helped make me the person I am today. That city, with all its struggles and strengths, built something in me that can’t be broken. Without Flint and the determination I developed there at a young age, I don't know if I’d be here today. I can’t wait for this homecoming event.
“Danielle Perkins is undefeated and a strong contender, but I’ve been fighting my whole life, not just in the ring. Whether it was in my personal life, in the amateur boxing ring, or as a professional world champion, I simply do not fail. Feb. 2nd will be no different.”
Shields (15-0, 3 KOs), 29, a four-division champion and two-time Olympic gold medalist, won the vacant WBC belt and vacant WBO light heavyweight title in her last fight in July, a second-round knockout of Canadian Vanessa Lepage-Joanisse in Detroit.
The Brooklyn, New York-born Perkins (5-0, 2 KOs), 42, a southpaw, is coming off a near-shutout six-round decision over Christianne Fahey on Shields’ undercard in July. This will be her first 10-rounder.
“I am more than excited to get in ring with one of the best fighters in the world,” said Perkins, who was a decorated amateur boxer and former college basketball player. “I am looking forward to showcasing my skillet to the world.”
BetUS Boxing Show
If you missed the BetUS Boxing Show live at 1 p.m. ET on Friday on YouTube, please check out the replay (and also subscribe to the YouTube channel). We previewed and picked three bouts on Saturday: super middleweight contender Jaime Munguia taking on Bruno Surace in a Tijuana, Mexico, homecoming bout on ESPN+; Murodjon Akhmadaliev against Ricardo Espinoza for the vacant WBA interim junior featherweight title on the Matchroom Boxing card on DAZN; and a welterweight clash between contenders Alexis Rocha and Raul Curiel in the Golden Boy headliner on DAZN. We also took viewer questions and comments and discussed the latest boxing news! Please check out the show here:
Teremoana aims to impress
Heavyweight Teremoana Teremoana, the 2024 Australian Olympian and intriguing prospect, aims to impress when he fights for the first time since signing a long-term promotional deal with Matchroom Boxing this month.
Teremoana, who turned pro in 2020 and had pro bouts before competing in the Paris Games, returns to the pro ranks on the undercard of the vacant WBA interim junior featherweight title bout between Murodjon Akhmadaliev and Ricardo Espinoza, which tops the “Monte-Carlo Showdown V” card on Saturday (DAZN, 1:30 p.m. ET) at Salle Des Etoiles in Monte Carlo, Monaco.
Teremoana (4-0, 4 KOs), 26, will face Volodymyr Katsuk (5-1, 2 KOs), 36, of Ukraine, in a scheduled six-rounder.
“I know what I have to be now to beat the best," said Teremoana, who lost in the Olympic quarterfinals to Uzbekistan’s Bakhodir Jalolov, who went on to win his second consecutive super heavyweight gold medal. “Now I’ve just got to take this opportunity with both hands and smash everyone in the pros. I believe I’m going to be the greatest heavyweight of this generation. That’s what I believe. Give me some time to prove it. Let me earn my stripes, and then we’ll go from there.
“This is my new pro debut. It was great to get a date locked in so soon after signing with Matchroom. That’s what I want to do. I just want to fight.
“I’m here to do my job, of course. I’m not mucking around. I’m here to sort out the business. I’m a very entertaining fighter. I enjoy getting in the ring and punching on. At the end of the day, I think everyone just likes to see people get knocked out. So, if you want to watch heavyweight boxing and see people get knocked out — tune in.”
Quick hits
Weights from Ontario, California, for the Golden Boy card Saturday (DAZN, 9 p.m. ET): Alexis Rocha 146.4 pounds, Raul Curiel 146.6; Charles Conwell 153.8, Gerardo Luis Vergara 152.8; John “Scrappy” Ramirez 114.6, Ephraim Bui 113.8; Marlen Esparza 114, Arley Mucino 111.8; Victor Morales 130, Ivan Guardado 130; Jorge Chavez 121.4, Ruben Casero 121.2; Ricardo Ruvalcaba 144.8, Jabin Chollet 145; Gael Cabrera 121.2, Garen Diagan 121.6; Joshua Garcia 134.2, Uhlices Avelino-Reyes 13.2; Fabian Guzman 158.4, Travis Floyd 154.6; Javier Meza 140.2, David Music 141.4.
Weights from Monte Carlo, Monaco, for the Matchroom Boxing card on Saturday (DAZN, 1:30 p.m. ET): Murodjon Akhmadaliev 121 pounds, Ricardo Espinoza 121.6 (for vacant WBA interim junior featherweight title); Chev Clarke 199, Leonardo Mosquea198.6 (for vacant European cruiserweight title); Beatriz Ferreira 134, Licia Boudersa 130.6 (for Ferreira’s IBF women’s lightweight title); Gary Cully 134.5, Maxi Hughes 134; Teremoana Teremoana 267.5, Volodymyr Katsuk 238.5.
Weights from Tijuana, Mexico, for the Zanfer Promotions card on Saturday (ESPN+, 9 p.m. ET): Jaime Munguia 169.1 pounds, Bruno Surace 169.1; Alan Picasso 125.9, Yehison Cuello 124.6 (Cuello is a last-minute replacement for Isaac Sackey); Jorge Garcia Perez 154.3, Kudratillo Abdukakhorov 158.2; Sebastian Hernandez 123.6, Sergio Martin Sosa 123.2; Christian Islas Roldan 130.7, Juan Anacona 129.5.
Weights from Liverpool, England, for the Boxxer card on Saturday (Peacock in U.S., 2 p.m. ET; Sky Sports in U.K.): Natasha Jonas 146 pounds, Ivana Habazin 146 (IBF/WBC women’s welterweight unification); Lauren Price 146, Bexcy Mateus 146 (for Price’s WBA women’s welterweight title); Stephen McKenna 152, Lee Cutler 152; Mark Jeffers 167, Joshua Quartey 165; Viddal Riley 201, Dan Garber 229; Frankie Stringer 137, Tatenda Mangombe 138; Mikie Tallon 110, Benn Norman 110; Mason Cartwright 156, Dzmitry Atrokhau 157;; Jamie Devine 131, Jayro Fernando Duran 133.
European junior featherweight champion Dennis McCann (16-0-1, 8 KOs), 23, of England, tested positive for a banned substance and his fight with countryman and 2020 Olympian Peter McGrail (10-1, 6 KOs), 28, which was slated for the Oleksandr Usyk-Tyson Fury II undercard on Dec. 21 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, was canceled on Friday. Queensberry Promotions and Turki Alalshikh announced the development. “The Voluntary Anti-Doping Association has today informed all relevant parties that Dennis McCann has returned an adverse finding following an anti-doping test conducted in advance of his upcoming bout,” they said. “Mr. McCann’s scheduled fight next Saturday will no longer take place, as the relevant parties investigate the matter further. No further comment on this will be made at this time.”
Super middleweight contender Erik Bazinyan will face Steven Butler in a 10-round all-Montreal showdown that will headline an Eye of the Tiger card on March 14 (ESPN+, 6:30 p.m. ET) at Theatre St-Denis in Montreal, it was announced Friday. “It’s incredibly difficult for me to see our athletes face each other, but I’m happy we can join forces to deliver another great local fight for our fans and kick off 2025 with a bang,” EOTT promoter Camille Estephan said. Bazinyan, who has been with EOTT since 2018, and Butler since 2014, are the two longest-serving members of its 23-fighter promotional roster. Bazinyan (32-1-1, 23 KOs), 29, aims to rebound from his first loss, a 10th-round knockout to Jaime Munguia on Sept. 20. Two-time world title challenger Steven Butler (35-5-1, 29 KOs), 29, won his last fight by first-round knockout of Fernando Farias on Nov. 7.
Show and tell
Promoters love to throw around the word “stacked” when referring to their cards, which drives me nuts because usually it’s nothing but pure hype not to be believed. Most cards are not remotely stacked and are far from it. But, love him or hate him, Don King in his heyday put on many truly stacked cards. Check out the Julio Cesar Chavez-headlined pay-per-views of the 1990s. They were almost always loaded with significant and interesting world title fights. Same with some of the Mike Tyson pay-per-views King promoted. More recently the term “stacked” has applied to most of the excellent Riyadh Season cards. One of King’s most loaded shows ever was a pay-per-view I covered at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey. It included two undisputed title fights, a two-belt unification fight and five other title bouts, one of which was a rematch of an excellent fight. In fact, every bout on the card was a world title fight. The eight world title bouts are an all-time record for most on one show.
There were so many title fights that a big part of the promotion was reminding fight fans that instead of the usual 9 p.m. ET start time, the PPV would begin at 8 p.m. King spent much of the promotion shouting that he had “eight title fights on the scene and five on the screen!” In other words, the PPV included five of the eight bouts. Kids, this was way before streaming existed, so it wasn’t until a few weeks later that the three other title bouts were shown one by one over three weeks on tape delay on the old Fox Sports Net, if my memory serves. Here’s the rundown of the eight title bouts: Bernard Hopkins-Williams Joppy (Hopkins defending the undisputed middleweight title); Ricardo Mayorga-Cory Spinks (meeting to unify titles for the undisputed welterweight title); Hasim Rahman-John Ruiz (WBA interim heavyweight); Zab Judah-Jaime Rangel (WBO junior welterweight); Travis Simms-Alex Garcia (WBA junior middleweight); Rosendo Alvarez-Victor Burgos (IBF/WBA junior flyweight unification); Wayne Braithwaite-Luis Pineda (WBC cruiserweight); Luis Perez-Felix Machado rematch (IBF junior bantamweight). The stacked card took place on Dec. 13, 2003 — 21 years ago on Friday. Here is an extremely rare and giant cardboard site poster that was displayed at co-host hotel Caesars Atlantic City during fight week and an HBO PPV poster, both of which are in my collection.
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Photos: Goodman: Team Goodman social media; Teremoana and Akhmadaliev-Espinoza: Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing; Munguia-Surace: Mikey Williams/Top Rank; Jonas-Habazin: Chris Dean/Boxxer
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