Sam Goodman has suffered an eye injury and will have to withdraw from his January 24th fight against unified super bantamweight champion Naoya ‘Monster’ Inoue. The two fighters were scheduled to fight at the Ariake Arena, Koto-Ku, in Tokyo, Japan.
Goodman Out
#1 IBF and WBO-ranked contender Goodman’s No Limit Boxing promoters report a “recurrence of his eye injury.” They don’t say when Goodman (19-0, 8 KOs) will be healthy enough to reschedule the fight against the unbeaten Inoue (28-0, 25 KOs).
If the injury keeps Goodman on the shelf for a long time, Inoue will have to decide whether to give up on fighting him and move up or sit and wait. It’s not a big fight that fans outside of Australia are interested in seeing.
Fans would like Inoue to face WBA interim champion Murodjon Akhmadaliev (13-1, 10 KOs) as a replacement because that would be an upgrade in talent. Akhmadaliev and his promoter have been pushing for a fight against Inoue for a long time without success.
This would be the ideal time. At this stage of his career, Inoue is beyond being pressured and does whatever he wants. He’s the Canelo of the 122-lb division.
Recurrence Forces Withdrawl
“No Limit Boxing regrets to announce that Sam Goodman has been forced to withdraw from his scheduled bout against Naoya Inoue on January 24 due to a recurrence of his eye injury.
We wish Sam a full and speedy recovery and will provide updates on the event in due course.”
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