Sam Goodman on wanting Inoue, running his own race and walking his dog

Sam Goodman sits on his sofa. Marvin, his chocolate-tan English bulldog named after Marvelous Marvin Hagler, lies alongside him, snoring softly, as Goodman talks about the damage he sustained to his hand in his last fight, and the dreams he has ahead of his next.

The Australian junior-featherweight contender is now 19-0 (8 KOs) and ranked No. 1 by two organizations that boast one of the world’s elite stars, Naoya Inoue, as their champion.

Earlier this month, the likeable Australian defeated tough Thai Chainoi “Rock Man” Worawut via decision over 12 tough and physical rounds.   

Goodman was believed to be in the frame for Inoue next. But the Australian suffered hand damage and Inoue fights former Goodman victim TJ Doheny in September as Goodman begins to rehabilitate his injuries, partly from sitting on the same sofa he is sitting on for the Zoom call, while squeezing a ball with his left hand.

“Everyone was sort of overlooking him and looking past him a bit, but we weren’t,” Goodman says, of his recent bout. “He was a very awkward guy. He did a whole lot of stuff that was just very awkward to deal with and was very unorthodox and that made me feel almost a bit more unorganized. It was a good test.”

Having watched it back, Goodman felt he won by around nine rounds to three. Many had it closer than that, but Goodman was happy enough with what he did.

“To be honest, I thought I let him have moments,” he admits. “I thought I was in control of the pace, the tempo, when we engaged, when we didn’t. I just let him have a few moments. I thought I was in control the whole time. I never felt it was close, I just felt there were little times where, especially when I went in close with him, I felt I was about to take over and get a bit of momentum and he’d just come out with weird stuff, and keep punching out of awkward positions or bad situations that I put him in. He’d almost tussle his way out of it. 

“It was interesting and it was a good experience fighting someone like that. It was a good test, a good hit out.”

Goodman’s hands started to give him problems in the fourth, but by the ninth he was having to bite down to contend with searing discomfort.

“I thought even with the pain I was able to control every round,” he adds. “It was manageable and it’s a fight at the end of the day. I didn’t tell my team about it until I took the gloves off at the end of the fight. I didn’t need them worrying about how bad my hand was. I needed them to let me know tactics and how we were going to get this job done. It was just something I put in the back of my head and something I got on with. I dealt with it. As soon as I took my glove off at the end of the fight, I said to my coach, ‘I think my hand’s broke,’ but I put it to the back of my mind and it was all about tactics and what I could do to win.”

Goodman insists his head has not been fully turned by the prospect of facing Inoue, even though the Japanese superstar invited him into the ring in May after he had vanquished Mexican tough guy Luis Nery. Not expecting the opportunity to cement his claim, Goodman just about managed to verbalise a wholly unscripted challenge.

“I’ll tell you how it came about for me to get into the ring,” Goodman smiles, “We started in about row nine, we had these passes that got us all access to pretty much any area, me and my team. We pretty much hustled our way to the front row, we sat in someone else’s seats, and then he [Inoue] obviously called us into the ring. It was his show. If he calls you into the ring, you’re allowed in there. That’s how that all came about.”

Goodman had flown himself out to Tokyo to catch Inoue’s eye and press his claims, but instead of getting Inoue next, Doheny has taken the call. 

Doheny boxed in the show opener on the Inoue-Nery bill, winning via stoppage, but he lost a wide decision to Goodman in March 2023, climbing off the floor early in the contest. 

While Goodman likes the Australia-based Irishman, he scoffs at Doheny’s position in front of him in the queue to face Inoue. Doheny has won his last three, all by stoppage and all in Japan, where he has built up a following as someone capable of defeating local talent.

“It’s a bit bizarre,” Goodman continues. “He’s had a good run since, but when I beat him he was an old man and he was finished. That’s what people were saying. ‘He’s a bit over the hill’. And I didn’t really get any credit for it and now he’s got the biggest opportunity in the division, so I think it’s a little bizarre. They called him ‘the Japanese Assassin’ or whatever when we were over there. He’s had a good run and credit to him, but I think there’s better guys in line, to be honest.

“I think TJ’s been hurt previously in his last few fights. I put him down in round three as well. I think it’s an early night, to be honest. I think under three rounds [against Inoue]. I hope I’m wrong. I like TJ as a guy, I think he’s a great guy, he’s done great things in the sport as well, but I don’t think he’s up for this challenge.”

Goodman was out of the running anyway, because of his hand, and because he already had this month’s fight in his diary. He made it clear earlier in the year he was on his own schedule and not Inoue’s, and talks between the two camps never even opened, despite online chatter that Goodman had turned down the Inoue fight on at least one occasion.

“I was out of the running [for September] because of the fight I had booked in, and lo and behold, I did get injured, so I would have had to pull out regardless,” says Goodman. “You can’t go into that fight with any sort of niggle or doubt hanging over your head. You need to be going into that fight 100 per cent and ready to win it. Look, my time will come, and hopefully it comes soon.

“We’ve never been in negotiations with Inoue. Everyone thinks because I got into the ring last time we must have been talking to them. We spent our own money to get out to that fight purely to scout him out. Once we got out there, we were hearing the murmurings. We spoke to TJ’s manager and it was basically already talked about, about TJ getting the next shot. So that was a bit of a shock. There was no sort of negotiations, no deal put to us. I haven’t seen anything or been approached with anything, so as far as negotiations go… we already had this most recent fight pencilled in while we were over in Tokyo, we had this date. But we haven’t seen a contract. Nothing. There’s been no offer put to me that I could say yes or no to. That’s just lies… 

“As far as pre-planned, pre-organizing stuff [in reference to appearing in the ring post Inoue-Nery], us turning stuff down, whatever, that’s just nonsense, and it’s all lies.”

But until Goodman does eventually fight Inoue, he will always face questions about when and if that bout might come about. The Australian has warned himself of the dangers of looking too far ahead. Someone like Worawut could have acted as a banana peel had Goodman been thinking of another visit to the Land of the Rising Sun.

It was well-documented how Anthony Joshua was distracted by Deontay Wilder when he was upset by Andy Ruiz in 2019. Goodman contends he won’t fall into a similar trap.

“In ways it’s a bit tough, but you’ve just got to zone out to it like I have been. And I keep reminding myself, I’ve got a job to do first and I don’t get that fight if I don’t finish this assignment, so that was something that was going constantly through my head,” Goodman admits. “And also, I was just trying to enjoy the whole experience, of being back at home, being at home for a fight night myself. Something I was very proud to do was bring a big fight night back to Wollongong. I tried to revel in that a little bit and almost just put my blinkers on and really focus on the job at hand.

“I’ve tried to do that my whole career. Everyone wants to talk about the next fight, what’s next or what you’re about to do, or what could potentially happen. Boxing changes like the weather and nothing’s ever certain, so I just focus on one thing at a time. Once it’s locked in. That’s what I tried to do this fight as well.”

Goodman has the full backing of his parents, too. Father Steven works for border force (customs) and his mum, Roxanne, works for the local council. Neither had a previous link to boxing and Goodman only took up boxing at the age of 10 or 11 to start getting fit to play rugby.

“They love it,” he grins, thinking of his parents and the path he has chosen. “They’ve been very supportive from a young age and they had to learn to love it and I think they still get very nervous and all that sort of stuff but they love it. They’re my biggest supporters and it’s something my mum struggled with at the start but she’s come round and now she’s a boxing mum. She’s very supportive. All my friends and family are, that come to the fights. I’ve got a real good support group and support base.”

Boxing, which Goodman preferred, eventually took over from rugby, and it’s just as well, as Goodman did not become a rugby-sized individual. 

“If I was playing footy at this size, I’d be getting thrown into the crowd,” he smiles.

As Goodman’s hand recovers, he’s limited to roadwork and shadowboxing, and using his other hand, and he is doing all of that with a degree of impatience. 

“There’s not much else in my life, to be honest,” says Goodman. “There’s not a lot of time for much else.

“I ride my motorbike [his Ducati Pentigani] every now and again when I’m out of camp, but I can’t put weight on my hand so I’m not even doing that. To be honest, it’s hanging around with the boys in the gym and my dog.”

Marvin is enjoying the company.

And despite the perhaps unexciting daily routine, Goodman has the discipline and structure to make normal what has allowed him to get to the lofty position he is in.

“I’m very tunnel-visioned. It’s all-in. It’s this or bust,” he continues. 

It has been well-documented this year how Australian boxing has boomed, with Jai Opetaia, George Kambosos, Liam Paro, Skye Nicholson, the Moloneys and many others having significant fights. Goodman is one of the golden generation.

“We’ve got a few contenders but we’ve got a few world champions as well,” he explains. “I’m looking to be joining a few of those boys, like Liam Paro, Jai Opetaia, guys like that, who I’ve seen since a young age, [go] through the amateur system, and I’m looking to do the same thing. Tim [Tszyu] I think is going to be a world champion very shortly again.

“Australian boxing’s booming at the moment and I’m next up.

“To be honest, I couldn’t really tell you why. It’s not like we’re working together. Australia is a pretty big country for how many people we’ve got, we’re very far apart from each other. There’s just a lot of good fighters going about their business in the right way and taking things with the right approach and having a massive dig. I can’t speak as to why there’s so much success, I can only speak to what I do, what I’ve seen, but hats off to all the guys who are flying the flag for the country. I’m happy for them. I’m happy to see my countrymen do well.”

Goodman springing the year’s biggest upset and dethroning Inoue at the back end of 2024 would put him at the top of that list, but as much as he is not looking forward too far, he only has respect for the undisputed champion.

He was impressed by what he saw with Inoue climbing off the floor to stop Nery in May.

“Of course,” Goodman goes on. “Great fight. I think there’s stuff I liked that I saw as well, but definitely. He’s a great fighter. I’m not gonna sit here and slag him off and say he’s no good. He’s a great fighter, and what he’s doing is pretty remarkable, but I’ve got ways to win that fight as well.”

It is also, clearly, the fight Goodman hopes he has next.

“It’s definitely going to be one more fight this year and we will see what happens with how things play out, and it depends on the hand. If there’s no hiccups, the hand should be right in another four-five weeks. I can start to get back into the swing of things.

“You’d like to think so [it will be Inoue he fights], 100 per cent. That’s the one you want. I don’t know what’s happening with [Murodjon] Akhmadaliev either, he’s in the waiting list as well so hopefully I can get the shot, but time will tell.” 

From walking Marvin around Albion Park to the possibility of headlining in Tokyo, Sam Goodman’s myopic outlook is now focused solely on a man on top of the boxing tree.