Naoya Inoue vs Sam Goodman Preview January 24th, 2025
Unbeaten, undisputed Super Bantamweight Champion Naoya Inoue of Japan defends his belts against undefeated Sam Goodman of Australia in Tokyo this Friday, January 24th. The 12-round contest can be seen live on ESPN+ in America with the undercard card starting about 12:45 am ET. Fans in the UK and Ireland can catch it on Sky Sports at 5:45 am while those in Australia can see it on pay-per-view. Inoue last fought in September when he stopped former world champion TJ Doheny in the seventh round. Inoue was dropped for the first time in his career in the first round by Luis Nery in his previous bout in May, but then decked Nery in the second and fifth rounds before stopping him in the sixth. Inoue stopped Marlon Tapales in the 10th round for the WBA and IBF Belts in December, 2023 and the former Undisputed Bantamweight King halted Stephen Fulton in the eighth round five months earlier to take his WBO and WBC titles. Goodman’s last bout took place in July when he beat Thachtana Luangphon via a 12-round unanimous decision.
Inoue vs Goodman Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Sam Goodman +1200
- Naoya Inoue -3300
My Pick
The 31-year-old Inoue is just the second male Japanese boxer to win world titles in four weight divisions to join Kazuto Ioka in that feat. Inoue was also a world beltholder at 108, 115 and 118 lbs and has been an undisputed champion in two different divisions. As a bantamweight, Inoue fought in the World Boxing Super Series Bantamweight Tournament and won the IBF belt when he stopped Emmanuel Rodriguez in the second round in May, 2019.
Six months later he beat Nonito Donaire by unanimous decision in a classic battle to capture the tournament as well as Donaire’s WBA Super World Belt. Inoue had originally won the regular WBA title in May, 2018 when he stopped Jamie McDonnell in 112 seconds. After beating Donaire, Inoue defended the belts against Jason Moloney, Michael Dasmarinas and Aran Dipaen with stoppages in the seventh, eighth and third rounds respectively.
Inoue and Donaire met in a long-awaited rematch in June, 2022 with Inoue adding the WBC Bantamweight Title to his collection when he stopped the Filipino Flash in the second round. He then became undisputed with an 11th-round stoppage of Paul Butler in December, 2022. He enters the ring this Friday with a perfect mark of 28-0 with 25 Ko’s. Inoue is also a former WBO Jr. Bantamweight and WBC Junior Flyweight Titleholder who has all the tools to be considered one of the world’s top pound-for-pound boxers.
He defended his Junior Bantamweight Crown seven times before moving up in weight. The Japanese star became a world champion in just his sixth pro fight when he stopped Adrian Hernandez in the sixth round for his WBC Junior Flyweight Belt in May, 2014. He defended it once then moved up to super flyweight and took the title from Omar Narvaez by second-round KO in December, 2014. Known as ‘The Monster,’ Inoue has been a sensation in his homeland since turning pro in 2012 and has boxed 169 rounds since.
He’s definitely got some dynamite in his fists with an 89.3 per cent knockout ratio but also has fine boxing skills. Inoue has stopped his last nine opponents and has gone the distance just once since mid-2016 and that was the first fight against Donaire in 2019, but he did drop him in the 11th round. Inoue stands 5-feet-5-inches tall with a 67.5-inch reach.
Before turning pro Inoue enjoyed a fine amateur career and is now 23-0 with 20 Ko’s in world title fights. He’s also beaten the likes of Juan Carlos Payano, Ryoichi Taguchi, Kohei Kono, Antonio Nieves, David Carmona and Ricardo Rodriguez. He’s also 13-0 with 11 Kos against current or former world champions in Doheny, Nery, Tapales, Fulton, Butler, Donaire, Rodriguez, Taguchi, Hernandez, Narvaez, Kono, McDonnell and Payano.
Goodman is just 26 years old and climbs through the ropes with a perfect mark of 19-0 with 8 Ko’s. He’s boxed 137 rounds since turning pro in 2018 following an amateur career which saw him reach the semifinals of the 2017 Australian National Championships and 2013 and 2014 Junior Championships. He won the 2017 Oceanian Championships and also fought at the 2016 AIBA Youth World Championships and won the Australian Youth and Junior National Championship in 2016. He stands just over 5-feet-6-inches tall with a 66.5-inch reach for a 1.5-inch height advantage on the champion while giving an inch up in reach.
Goodman likes to remain busy as he fought twice last year and four times in 2023 when he beat Zhong Liu, Miguel Flores and Ra’eese Aleem by 12-round unanimous decisions and downed TJ Doheny by 10-round unanimous decision to defend his IBF Inter-Continental Super Bantamweight Title. As far as power goes, Goodman is just below average as 42.1 per cent of his wins have come by stoppage and he’s gone the distance in seven of his last nine outings.
Since turning pro Goodman has also captured the vacant Australasian Featherweight Title along with the IBF Inter-Continental, and WBO Oriental Super Bantamweight Belts. He took a step up in class for the first time in 2023 with his unanimous decision over former world champion TJ Doheny and followed up with the wins over Aleem, Flores and Liu but took a step backwards or sideways against Mark Schleibs last year. Goodman also has victories over Richie Mepranum and Juan Miguel Elorde.
Prediction…
This isn’t really a matchup fans wanted to see but Goodman is fighting Inoue as he’s the mandatory challenger for the WBO and IBF Titles. The fight was supposed to take place on December 24th last year but was postponed a month when Goodman was cut over his eye in sparring. Goodman is five years younger than Inoue and is a solid pro but he doesn’t match him in experience and power. Inoue’s also a fine boxer but he can’t afford to take anybody lightly after being dropped by Luis Nery and struggling somewhat against TJ Doheny in his last two outings. Inoue is a fantastic body puncher who changes angles, speed and power when letting his hands go and while Goodman might have his moments, I believe Inoue will retain his belts as Goodman doesn’t have the power to keep him at bay for 12 rounds. Of course, with Inoue, a stoppage is also a good bet.
Inoue’s power and boxing skills should get the job done.
Play Inoue -3300 @ BetOnline.ag
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Naoya Inoue betting • Sam Goodman betting