By: Sean Crose
Boxing fans will have a nice present for themselves this Christmas season if ESPN is to be believed. For the outlet’s Mike Coppinger is reporting Noya Inoue, the undisputed super bantamweight champion of the world is in the process of finalizing a deal to square off against Sam Goodman on December 24th. Goodman, who is largely unknown, will enter the ring the prohibitive underdog, but is nonetheless getting the chance of a lifetime in facing perhaps the greatest active fighter on earth. The bout will go down in the wee hours of the morning here in the States, but it should be broadcast live, as all Inoue fights are.
The 25 year old Goodman will be making the trip from Australia to Tokyo for the bout. At 19-0 he is undefeated, though perhaps the biggest name he’s faced is TJ Doheny, who he defeated last year. Stylistically, Goodman puts his punches together effectively. He also has fluid footwork and knows how to apply pressure on an opponent. On the other hand, the undefeated challenger has limited punching power at best. Sure enough, only 8 of the man’s nearly 20 fights haven’t gone all the way to the final bell.
That may well prove to be a problem for Goodman when he faces Inoue in December. At 31 years of age, the 28-0 multi divisional titlist has stopped all but three of his opponents within the distance. Furthermore, Inoue has faced a whose who of opponents, ranging from Antonio Nieves to Nonito Donaire to Stephen Fulton. And then there’s Inoue’s supreme confidence and thunderous power. They call him the “Monster” for a reason. Inoue’s bodywork in particular is a thing of horrific beauty to watch. The Japanese fighter perhaps isn’t simply considered a great anymore – he’s now perhaps seen as an all time great.
Goodman, for sure, will have his work cut out for him should this fight come to fruition (which it likely will). Still, fighters’ careers are relatively short adventures. A degree of slippage is apt to show when one reaches his 30s, as Inoue has. No such slippage has been seen yet, however, and Inoue has already fought twice this year. Even if and when Inoue does begin to slip, he will still be a true force to be reckoned with. Great fighters are apt to fade away at a slower rate than their ring peers.
*Image: Top Rank