NAOYA INOUE may not fight on Christmas Eve.
Sam Goodman, the Australian challenger who was due to challenge Inoue for the Japanese superstar's IBF, WBA, WBC and WBO 122-pound titles on December 24 in Tokyo, suffered a cut during sparring on Friday, forcing him to withdraw from their 12-round title fight fight that night. Goodman suffered a cut just above his left eyelid during what was planned to be his last sparring session before he flew from Australia to Japan on Sunday.
Australian TV journalist Ben Damon first reported Goodman's cut on social media on Friday night.
Boxing News has confirmed that Goodman's handlers have insisted on rescheduling the entire event to January 24 to take on the No. 1 contender in both the IBF and WBO junior welterweight rankings.
Inoue's representatives are considering replacing Goodman (19-0, 8 KOs) with Japan's Toshiki Shimamachi (19-1-3, 12 KOs), who is scheduled to fight fellow Japanese boxer Misaki Hirono (11-1, 4 KOs), in the 10- round undercard on December 24.
Shimamachi is ranked No. 5 by the IBF, No. 8 by the WBC and No. 11 by the WBA in the 122-pound division. The WBO lists Shimamachi as its seventh contender in the featherweight division (126 pounds).
The Ariake Arena is sold out for the card that was supposed to feature Inoue-Goodman, which was a major factor for Inoue's handlers who were reluctant to postpone the event.
Perhaps more problematic, however, is that Shimamati is a 5-foot-10½ southpaw, while Goodman is 5-foot-6½ and fights from a right-handed stance. A change in strategy to a southpaw, without the benefit of sparring against left-handed boxers, if at all, this end of training camp apparently prompted Inoue's handlers to simply have him fight Goodman in a month.
However, a one-month delay could disrupt Inoue's 2025 plans.
Inoue was set to return to the ring on April 12 in Las Vegas when he defeated Goodman on December 24. His likely opponent in that bout would be Mexico's Alan Picasso (30-0-1, 16 KOs), who must first defeat Colombia's Jehyson Cuella (13-2-1, 11 KOs) on Saturday night in Tijuana to remain WBC no. 1 contender for one of Inoue's four championships. If Inoue is successful in his mandatory defense against Goodman and Picasso, he wants to fight WBC lightweight champion Junto Nakatani (29-0, 22 KOs) at the Tokyo Dome in what would be the biggest fight in Japanese boxing history. late next summer or early next fall. Nakatani would need to win one more fight, possibly in his 122-pound debut, to secure a spot against Inoue.