Negotiations are in the final stages for the next title defense of the formidable Japanese “Monster”: Inoue vs Goodman is highly likely to take place on December 24 in Tokyo, with all four major super bantamweight world titles on the line.
Naoya Inoue, WBC, WBA, IBF, and WBO champion of the division, is undefeated as a professional with an impressive record of 28 wins out of 28 fights, 25 of which ended by KO. His latest title defense took place a month ago, where the Japanese fighter dominated Irishman TJ Doheny, who, despite a respectable performance, had to surrender in the seventh round.
The Australian challenger, Sam Goodman, is also undefeated, having won all 19 of his fights so far. However, his record does not compare, in terms of the quality of opponents, to that of the champion. Goodman possesses good timing and speed, though he seems to lack some power.
If Inoue secures another victory, two exciting paths open up for him. The Japanese superstar could move up another weight class to challenge for a world title in the featherweight division, or he could wait for his fellow countryman Junto Nakatani to move up to super bantamweight, setting up an exciting domestic showdown.
We’ll see if Goodman, despite bookmakers undoubtedly counting him out, can upset these plans and shock the world.