NAOYA INOUE might not fight on Christmas Eve after all.
Sam Goodman, the Australian contender who was scheduled to challenge Inoue for the Japanese superstar’s IBF, WBA, WBC and WBO 122-pound titles December 24 in Tokyo, suffered a cut during a sparring session Friday that forced him to withdraw from their 12-round title fight that night. Goodman was cut just above his left eyelid during what was slated to be his last sparring session before he flew from Australia to Japan on Sunday.
Australian broadcast journalist Ben Damon first reported the news of Goodman’s cut on social media Friday night.
Boxing News has confirmed that Goodman’s handlers have pushed for the entire event to be postponed to January 24 to accommodate the No. 1 contender in the junior featherweight rankings of both the IBF and WBO.
Inoue’s representatives have considered replacing Goodman (19-0, 8 KOs) with Japan’s Toshiki Shimomachi…
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