Naoya Inoue the undisputed champion at super bantamweight is set to make another defence of his championships. His promoter Top Rank announced Inoue’s next fight on social media. Inoue will be defending against contender mandatory challenger Sam Goodman. The fight will take place in Tokyo at the Ariake Arena on the 24th of December and should be an excellent Christmas present.
Legacy
There is no overstating just how good Naoya Inoue is there is a reason he’s in everyone’s top 3 pound for pound list. Every weight class Inoue has been at he has seen tremendous success. Inoue secured his first world title at light flyweight in his 6th pro fight acquiring the WBC title which he would defend once before moving up to super flyweight. He would immediately acquire the WBO title there defending several times.
Inoue would then move up to bantamweight where he would have a couple fights before securing the IBF world title. Here would be the 1st time Inoue would face struggle and adversity against Nonito Donaire. Prior to this bout Inoue had faced little struggle even against world calibre fighters. In this bout Inoue would show his mettle fighting through a fractured orbital bone. Donaire was also his best opponent to date and Inoue would pass that test with flying colours.
Inoue would clear up the rest of the bantamweight division unifying all the belts to become undisputed. He would even face Donaire again however this time would finish him in 2 rounds. Not satisfied with being undisputed in one weight class Inoue moved up to super bantamweight his current division.
Immediately Inoue would snatch up the world titles and seek unifications before again becoming undisputed. However, Inoue has been more content to stick to this division after becoming undisputed. He has defended his undisputed status twice so far and is looking to do so again against Goodman.
Inoue’s resume in terms of names, skills, and titles all speak to his greatness as a fighter. He is undoubtedly the best Japanese boxer ever and has firmly established himself as an all time great. And he still has plenty of time to continue to add to his legacy.
Inoue vs Goodman
Naoya Inoue’s next challenge is Sam Goodman. Goodman is the mandatory challenger for both Inoue’s WBO and IBF world titles. The challenger hails from Australia and has spent his entire career fighting in his backyard until now. This is the first time Goodman has stepped to the world stage and he has an absolute mountain to climb. Goodman boasts an undefeated record however his competition hasn’t been stellar.
Inoue and Goodman’s one common opponent TJ Doheny was dealt with a lot more impressively by Inoue. Goodman won a unanimous decision over 10 rounds while Inoue stopped him in 7 rounds. Overall, Inoue is simply the far better fighter and has the record to show it there is nowhere Goodman is better than Inoue at. And with only 8 KOs in 19 wins Goodman lacks the fire power to earn Inoue’s respect. And if you can’t get Inoue’s respect with his power and skill it could be lights out early for Goodman.
There aren’t many pathways of victory for Goodman but bigger upsets have happened in the past. If Inoue gets past Goodman there are questions to be had mainly regarding weight and opponents. Inoue has cleaned out super bantamweight so if he beats Goodman who’s next? He could move up another division if he wants to continue to push himself. Or one of the many skilled fighters from bantamweight could move up to face Inoue. These questions will be answered after the fight come December 24th.
Featured image credits to Embed from Getty Images
