As fans may recall, Australia’s Sam Goodman was all set to fight unified super-bantamweight champ Naoya Inoue, first in December, and then a month later. But the cut eye Goodman suffered that forced the postponement of the December date reopened, and the fight was off again. We thought for good.
But now, in speaking with The Ring, Goodman said he still wants his shot at “The Monster.” And Goodman, 19-0(8) is sure Inoue can be beaten. Like the rest of us, Goodman watched Sunday’s thriller of a fight between Inoue and Ramon Cardenas, this a fight that saw Inoue get knocked down for just the second time in his career.
Goodman, who will return to action against Cesar Vaca on May 14th, says he will get the win and then “throw my name back in that [Inoue] picture.”
“He proved again he’s a great fighter,” Goodman said of Inoue. “Great fighter? Yes, but can he be beat? Absolutely. I’ve got a fight and that’s where my focus is. I’m not worrying about anything outside that. Once I get through this, I’ll definitely be looking and trying to throw my name back in that picture. There’s chinks in everyone’s armour. I don’t think anyone is unbeatable, and that goes for him as well. Any man can be hurt, any man can be put down.”
But so far, no man has really come close to putting Inoue down and keeping him there. Goodman is no noted big puncher but he is a very capable boxer. He was Inoue’s mandatory, and his shot was there until that bad cut cruelly opened in training. Now, has Goodman lost his shot at Inoue forever?
Inoue, who advanced to 30-0(27) with the eighth-round stoppage win he picked up over Cardenas, has plans, as we know – a September fight with Murodjon Akhmadaliev in Tokyo, maybe a December fight in Riyadh, and that massive all-Japanese showdown with Junto Nakatani. Again, has Goodman lost out here, through no fault of his own?