Naoya Inoue’s latest defence of his world super-bantamweight titles has been postponed from its initial Christmas Eve date after challenger Sam Goodman suffered a cut in sparring.
Japanese star Inoue, who has been undisputed in his division since knocking out Marlon Tapales a year ago, will now fight Australian Goodman in Tokyo on Friday January 24.
Goodman’s camp announced on Saturday that the 26-year-old had sustained a cut above his left eye, with the fighter receiving four stiches after what he said on Instagram was a “freak accident”.
Goodman has won all 19 of his professional bouts, including eight via knockout, and was last in the ring in July when he beat Thailand’s Chainoi Worawut via unanimous decision.
Undefeated Inoue, who has secured 25 knockouts across his 28 wins and stopped TJ Doheny in his previous bout in September, said on social media: “I’m sorry to everyone who was looking forward to it. We hope you will come again on the new dates.
“Let’s fight at our best.”
Inoue became undisputed bantamweight champion when he stopped Paul Butler in December 2022, before moving up in weight and continuing to dominate.
The 31-year-old knocked out Luis Nery in May of this year and then recorded victory over Doheny in the seventh round four months later.
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