As fans may have read by now, it’s official: “Monster” Naoya Inoue will defend his armful of 122-pound world titles against another unbeaten mandatory challenger in his next fight, with Aussie warrior Sam Goodman getting his turn against the pound-for-pound star. The fight will take place on December 24th, and it has a cool tagline – “The Nightmare on Christmas Eve.”
At a time of the year when most people are full of joy and cheer and are not all that interested in tuning in to watch some X-rated violence, Inoue will look to do away with yet another good, capable fighter. And the festive holidays can be put on the back burner for a few hours. Also on the card that will take place inside the Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan, WBO bantamweight champ Yoshiki Takei, 10-0(8), will defend his strap against TBA. Also, top-ranked welterweight contender Jin Sasaki, 18-1-1(17), will face Shoki Sakai, who is 29-14-3(15).
It is, though, the “Monster” show that fans will be showing up for. Inoue, who will cap off his first three-fight year since 2017 with the defense against Goodman, 19-0(8), will be looking to score yet another chilling KO, his third of 2024. Inoue is, we hope, creeping up on a massive fight with fellow Japanese star Junto Nakatani. This sheer modern-day classic is in the making and being looked at for the second half of next year.
Before that, Bob Arum says Inoue will fight in Las Vegas around April, possibly on a doubleheader with Nakatani to see action. But before this, Goodman gets his shot. And though Goodman will enter the ring as a considerable underdog, he has good credentials and can fight. But can anyone on this side of the featherweight division (and even up there, Inoue may well reign supreme) beat Inoue? 26-year-old Goodman has that quietly confident demeanor about him, and who knows, maybe he and his team can devise a game plan that serves to give Inoue some problems.
That said, it’s tough to picture anything other than Inoue’s 29th career win here. The final KO we see in 2024 could prove to be a memorably chilling one. You know, the kind Inoue has delivered with fearsome regularity since turning professional.
As to whether or not Inoue picks up The Fighter of The Year award for 2024, well, we’ll have to wait and see. For sure, 31-year-old Inoue has had a pretty good year so far.
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