Undisputed super bantamweight champion Naoya ‘Monster’ Inoue’s fight against Sam Goodman on December 24th will need to be postponed due to the Aussie suffering a cut over his left eye during his final sparring session. The two were supposed to be meeting at the Ariake Arena, Koto-Ku, in Tokyo, Japan.

No Replacement?

There’s no word yet whether Inoue (28-0, 25 KOs) will find a replacement opponent to save the date and card. It’s not like there was a lot of interest from non-Australian fans to see Inoue defend against Goodman, 26, as the fight was seen as a mismatch.

Fans wouldn’t complain if Inoue never rescheduled the Goodman fight because this is not one of the names on the wish list of people for the Japanese fighter to face.

They want Inoue to start fighting in 50-50 fights, not 90-10. That’s why Naoya isn’t popular outside of his native Japan. He never puts himself in a position where he could lose by fighting guys who have a chance of beating him. He’s not a risk-taker.

Goodman had never beaten any notable opponents to acquire his #1 ranking with the IBF and WBO. Boxing fans wanted to see Inoue take a talented contender for a change, namely Murodjon Akhmadaliev or John Riel Casimero. Goodman was just another one in the long line of disappointing opponents Inoue faced during his 12-year pro career.

Inoue has been taking his sweet time moving up to 126 to face the dangerous talents in that division, and some believe he’s got stage fright, knowing that he would be expected to fight these dangerous apex predators:

Rafael Espinoza
Bruce Carrington
Rey Vargas
Stephen Fulton
Angelo Leo
Brandon Figueroa
Sulaimaan Segawa

Is it asking too much for Inoue to fight one of these killers? Many of these guys would be an absolute nightmare for Inoue, 31, which may be why he’s hesitating to move up to featherweight.

Goodman’s Injury

Disaster. Sam Goodman has been cut over the eye in his final spar before the undisputed fight with Naoya Inoue. Goodman camp now pushing for a delay to scheduled Christmas Eve fight in Tokyo. Goodman was set to fly out tomorrow #InoueGoodman pic.twitter.com/cdq6UpIMI8

— Ben Damon (@ben_damon) December 14, 2024