Top Rank boss Bob Arum reports that Naoya Inoue vs. Sam Goodman is being finalized for Christmas Eve on December 24th in Tokyo, Japan.
This is another defense for undisputed super bantamweight champion Inoue (28-0, 25 KOs), who will take on #1 IBF and WBO contender Goodman (19-0, 8 KOs). It’s a match that Aussie and Inoue’s fans in Japan will be interested in.
No words describe how poor a match-up this is, but from Inoue’s perspective, it’s easy money for him. Goodman has zero power and has no notable wins on his resume, which suggests that he’ll be competitive against Naoya.
Goodman doesn’t have much to offer Inoue in terms of power, and this should be a one-sided affair like the Japanese star’s recent ones at 122 and 118. The 25-year-old Goodman is a finesse-level fighter in the Stephen Fulton and Paul Butler mold. He’s not as good as Fulton, which means this one should end early on Christmas Eve.
Arum told Dan Rafael that the 31-year-old Inoue ha a “Major fight” being planned for April 2025 in Las Vegas.
Inoue Hated By U.S Fans
Inoue has become hated by many U.S. fans, who dislike watching him play it safe at Super Bantamweight, fighting the mediocre opposition that division is filled with. There are no talented fighters in that weight class.
A lot of U.S. fans view Inoue as a fake, a fighter who has faced weak opposition throughout his career, almost losing to 40-year-old Nonito Donaire and unwilling to move up to 126 or 135 to take risky fights that would expose him.
American fans believe Inoue is staying there and using it as a foxhole to hide from the dangerous predatory sharks that would feast on him if he showed courage by moving up to featherweight. That division is stacked with talent from top to bottom, and there are at least 11 fighters at 126 that would have an excellent chance of defeating Inoue.
U.S fans want Inoue to run the gauntlet at 126:
Nick Ball
Rafael Espinoza
Rey Vargas
Brandon Figueroa
Otabek Kholmatov
Robeisy Ramirez
Raymond Ford
Angelo Leo
Bruce Carrington
