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Mike Coppinger, ESPN Boxing Insider
For the second time in 30 days, Australia’s Sam Goodman has withdrawn from a fight against undisputed junior featherweight champion Naoya Inoue.
According to his promoter, No Limit, Goodman had a recurrence of an eye injury he suffered last month that led to the initial bout Dec. 24 being postponed to Jan. 24 in Tokyo.
Japan’s Inoue, one of boxing’s top global stars, still will fight Jan. 24 in Tokyo, sources told ESPN. A replacement opponent is being sought on two weeks’ notice.
Goodman (19-0, 8 KOs) needed four stitches to close a cut over his left eye that he suffered while sparring last month. While sparring Saturday morning (local time) in Australia, that cut reopened and was more severe.
The 26-year-old now will need plastic surgery that will sideline him approximately six months, sources said.
In May, Inoue (28-0, 25 KOs) knocked out Luis Nery with 50,000-plus in attendance at a sold-out Tokyo Dome. In September, Inoue retained his four 122-pound belts with a seventh-round TKO of TJ Doheny.
Inoue, ESPN’s No. 3-ranked pound-for-pound boxer, is already an all-time great, a four-division champion who has dominated every weight class in which he has reigned. He was a -2000 favorite to defeat Goodman, per ESPN BET.
Goodman, 26, is ESPN’s No. 4-ranked junior featherweight and has proved his mettle in wins over fellow contenders Ra’eese Aleem and Doheny. He is coming off a July decision win over Thai fringe contender Thachtana Luangphon.
Inoue will be making the third defense of his undisputed championship and will fulfill another mandatory obligation. The 31-year-old still will owe a mandatory defense afterward against Uzbekistan’s Murodjon Akhmadaliev.
Inoue hasn’t competed in the United States since June 2021, but there are plans for him to return for a stateside fight in the spring. He told ESPN on Wednesday that fight could take place in April against Mexico’s David Picasso at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.