The bout between Naoya Inoue and Sam Goodman has been canceled. The contest, originally scheduled for late December, was initially postponed to January 24 after the latter suffered a cut above his left eye in sparring. On Friday, it was confirmed that the contest fell through.
“Sam Goodman has been forced to withdraw from his scheduled bout against Naoya Inoue on January 24 due to a recurrence of his eye injury,” the Australian promotion No Limit Boxing stated.
Naoya Inoue (28-0, 25 KOs) was set to make the third defense of his undisputed 122 lbs title, following a seventh-round TKO against TJ Doheny last September. A new challenger going up against the 31-year-old Japanese champion is expected to be named shortly.
26-year-old Australian contender Sam Goodman (19-0, 8 KOs) was set to make his international debut and first attempt to become champion.