Sam Goodman, who canceled his challenge against Naoya Inoue, wins his comeback fight but suffers a cut above his left eyelid.

On May 14 (May 15 Japan time), Sam Goodman—ranked IBF No.1, WBO No.2, and WBC No.4 at super bantamweight—headlined the No Limit Boxing Promotions event held at the Hordern Pavilion in Sydney, Australia. Goodman (Australia, 56.14 kg) maintained his undefeated record, now standing at 19 wins (8 KOs).

Goodman suffered a cut above his left eyelid that required four stitches during sparring on December 14 last year. As a result, his bout with Naoya Inoue (Ohashi Gym, 30-0, 27 KOs), the undisputed world super bantamweight champion, which was scheduled for 10 days later, was postponed by a month. However, during another sparring session on January 11, he reopened the same wound.

This time, the injury required 14 stitches, leading Goodman to officially withdraw from the fight with Inoue. After undergoing reconstructive surgery, Goodman was initially expected to be out for six months, but he made an earlier-than-expected return to the ring.

In his comeback, Goodman faced César Baca (Mexico, 56.06 kg), the WBC FECARBOX bantamweight champion and ranked No.21 in the WBC world bantamweight division, who had previously visited Japan in June 2023 and served as a sparring partner for Inoue. Goodman won the 10-round match by unanimous decision with scores of 100-90, 99-91, and 99-92.

Matt Rose, promoter of Sam Goodman from No Limit Boxing, commented after the cancellation of the fight with Naoya Inoue, “It’s clearly because his (Goodman’s) skin is too soft,” and added, “He’ll undergo reconstructive surgery on the wound. He likely won’t be able to fight for the next six months.”

After the bout, Goodman gave a tearful speech in the ring, expressing gratitude to the staff who supported him during the tough time after the cancellation of the Inoue fight. He pledged to make his world title challenge a reality. However, there are concerns about his recurring injury, and since champion Inoue’s schedule is already filled far in advance, it may take some time for the title shot to happen.

In the semi-final, Harry Garside, the Tokyo Olympics lightweight bronze medalist (Australia), returned to the ring for the first time in about three years. He fought a six-round super lightweight bout and defeated Charlie Bell (Australia, 5 wins [2 KOs], 1 loss) by TKO at the end of the fifth round.

Attention is focused on whether Goodman can make it back to a fight with Naoya Inoue.

This article has been translated and published with permission from BOXING MASTER.

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