Naoya Inoue Next Fight: Date Set, Opponent Confirmed Despite Recent Objection

Undisputed super bantamweight champion Naoya Inoue (28-0, 25 KOs) will return to action for his next fight on December 24. “Monster” will face the undefeated Australian Sam Goodman (19-0, 8 KOs) at the Ariake Arena, Tokyo. The Japanese superstar will aim to close out the year in true “Monster” style. In the co-feature, Yoshiki Takei (10-0, 8 KOs) will take on an opponent yet to be named in a defense of his WBO bantamweight world title.

Naoya Inoue to Defend Titles Against Sam Goodman Despite Objection

Inoue to Defend Undisputed Crown for the Third Time

The Japanese superstar will be making the third defence of his undisputed crown, while the fearsome puncher looks to record his 10th consecutive knockout.

There was a recent objection to the Inoue-Goodman fight from team Murodjon Akhmadaliev, which Bob Arum addressed on a recent special Fight Freaks Unite/Big Fight Weekend podcast: “That’s typical nonsensical behaviour, which happens very often in boxing. If I were Vadim (Kornilov) who’s the manager of Akhmadaliev, I would not pursue that course, but I would be looking to start negotiations for an April fight with Inoue without litigation, without nonsense.”

Inoue has fast become a pound-for-pound great becoming undisputed at bantamweight, before repeating the feet at super bantamweight, defeating Marlon Tapales. Since becoming undisputed at 122lbs, he has survived the first knockdown in his career to beat Luis Nery and defended his titles against TJ Doheny most recently. Goodman has worked to this opportunity, staying unbeaten – scoring impressive wins over Ra’eese Aleem, Zhong Liu and Thachtana Luangphon.

Bob Arum Talks Inoue-Junto Nakatani

During his conversation with Dan Rafael, Arum spoke on the future for “Monster” following the Goodman fight and the plans to face Junto Nakatani in the summer/early fall: “Exactly. Whenever we can get the Tokyo Dome, that’s the key, because it’s not only with the Baseball team that plays there, the Tokyo Giants. They also do entertainment, it’s always booked up. Brad Jacobs (COO of Top Rank) has met with the head guy at the Tokyo Dome and they‘re aiming for a date in the summer or fall of next year to do that fight.”