Fight fans have heard the news that Sam Goodman suffered a cut eye in a sparring session, forcing him to withdraw from his December 24th date with unified super-bantamweight king Naoya Inoue. Those fans hoping a late sub would be found to save the date will be disappointed, as Inoue himself wrote on social media that the fight will now take place on Friday, January 24th.
Fight fans were looking forward to a slice of boxing action over Christmas, but now Inoue’s latest fight will have to wait exactly one month. In truth, most people see Goodman, a good, solid fighter, as a huge underdog against “The Monster.” But Goodman, the IBF mandatory, will still get his shot in Japan.
However, boxing will still take place during the festive season, all in Japan. On December 30th, Ryan Garcia is scheduled to face Rukiya Anpo in a 153-pound catch-weight bout in Tokyo. Some, though, doubt that this fight will go ahead.
On New Year’s Eve, Tokyo will play host to the intriguing, expected-to-be, action-packed rematch between Fernando Martinez and Kazuto Ioka, the fight to contest the WBA junior bantamweight title Martinez took from Ioka in a thriller back in July. This one could prove to be a real FOTY contender, with the fight taking place right at the very end of 2024.
Inoue, 28-0(25), last saw action in September when he stopped TJ Doheny. He will now box Goodman, 19-0(8), in January. Then, all being well, “The Monster” will return to the US, likely Las Vegas, to fight. There is also talk of that massive all-Japanese super-fight between Inoue and Junto Nakatani happening sometime next year. Now, that’s a gargantuan fight we all want to see.
In the meantime, Inoue and Goodman are as disappointed as the fans that their fight has suffered a postponement. But, as Tyson Fury might put it, “S**t happens.”
Indeed.
