Naoya Inoue is set to fulfill a mandatory defense of his undisputed junior featherweight title. Inoue will fight undefeated Australian boxer Sam Goodman on Christmas Eve, Top Rank announced on Thursday.
Goodman traveled to Japan in May to watch Inoue take on Luis Nery. The challenger scored a stunning knockdown in the opening round — the first time Inoue had been dropped in his 27-fight pro career. Inoue rallied back, however, and dismantled Nery before the knockout came in Round 7 to retain the undisputed title at 122 pounds.
The will mark Inoue’s third defense of his undisputed crown after his stoppages of Nery and TJ Doheny earlier this year. Inoue is currently ranked No. 2 in CBS Sports’ boxing pound-for-pound rankings and is one of three male boxers to become undisputed champion in two weight classes of the four-belt era, along with Oleksandr Usyk and Terrence Crawford.
Goodman (19-0, 8 KOs) is also 2-0 in 2024, beating Chainoi Worawut by unanimous decision and Mark Schleibs by knockout. Goodman fights for a major boxing championship for the first time after holding secondary WBO junior featherweight titles. Goodman notably beat Doheny — Inoue’s last opponent — via decision in March 2023. He’s also beaten WBA super featherweight title challenger Miguel Flores and former WBA interim super bantamweight champ Ra’eese Aleem.
