Sam Goodman’s promoter has revealed the extent of the sacrifices that went to waste when the Australian missed out on fighting the great Naoya Inoue.
Goodman on Saturday challenges England’s Nick Ball for the WBA featherweight title, and does so seven months after a cut denied him a date with Inoue for the second time.
He was to travel to Tokyo to fight the Japanese icon and undisputed super-bantamweight champion in his home country in first December and then January, but after a cut to the head forced a postponement from the first date to the second, a recurrence of the same injury meant that he was replaced by the little-known South Korean Ye Joon Kim, Inoue moving on from plans to fight him, and him instead travelling even further to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia to fight Ball when it is little secret Ball hopes to fight Inoue next.
Victory for the 26-year-old does, therefore, perhaps represent Goodman’s greatest hopes of reviving the contest that remains the highest profile and most lucrative he is likely to encounter.
The improving Ball, 28, is a promising yet considerably less proven champion, and it is for that reason that No Limit’s George Rose has faith that his fighter will win regardless of his moving up in weight.
“Mate, it was so many different emotions,” he told BoxingScene of January’s cancellation. “It was the shock; it was the disappointment, and then the disappointment for Sam, knowing what was missed. That’s a fight that anybody at that weight dreams of getting – that opportunity to take that fight. To fight a legend – he’s a once-in-a-generation fighter. To share the ring with him is a huge moment for any fighter, and Sam Goodman had the chance to fight him and beat him, for an undisputed world title.
“There’s many things that were out there that could have changed Sam Goodman’s life, and he missed out – we missed out on that opportunity – and so it was a real rollercoaster of emotions. We managed to save it and get a rescheduled date, and then it happened again. It was the same thing again – it was the shock. ‘This can’t be real – it’s actually happened.’ Just disappointment and sadness for everyone involved. It actually felt like losing. The fight hadn’t even happened, but it felt like taking a loss – all of the work had gone into preparing.
“Even over the last few years, knowing that Inoue was going to end up there and be the guy he’s going to have to fight – Sam Goodman’s path was knowing that he was running into that fight and preparing with every opponent leading up to that. Preparing himself to be a real dog in that fight against Inoue, so the years of work that went into that all slipped by with a nasty eye cut. It was a tough period, but he got back on the horse and he’s fought his way again back into this opportunity.”
Ball in March in 10 rounds stopped TJ Doheny, incidentally among Inoue’s former opponents – and one who was stopped in seven by Inoue the previous September.
“Very difficult fight,” Rose continued. “Sam’s very much the underdog stepping into this with all the odds stacked against him. He’s coming up in weight; he’s fighting a world champion; he’s fighting away from home in a very different timezone. I don’t think I could think of any other odds that are stacked against him, taking this fight, but Sam Goodman is a pure boxer. Sam Goodman’s a guy who works hard; he’s worked hard his whole life to get to the point where he is now. This is a chance for him to shock the world and show everyone what he’s actually made of.
“The opportunity for Naoya Inoue was one he would have loved – he was going into that fight to win. A lot of guys take that fight for the great pay that they get at that weight. But Sam Goodman wanted to win that fight, and he believed that he was going to win it. He didn’t get the chance to show the world what he can do – this is his chance with all the odds stacked against him, stepping in against Nick Ball for a chance to tell the world who Sam Goodman is and become a world champion.
“Undisputed is the pinnacle – that’s what they all want to get to. You can’t replace that. But a chance at the world title – a world title that he can win. He’s less of an underdog against Nick Ball, but being an underdog has never deterred Sam Goodman. Most Aussie fighters, when you’re stepping on to the world stage, you’re seen as an underdog because you come from a small country down the bottom of the globe, who’s stepping in to take on these champions who come from big countries who have fought great opposition to get to where they’re at. They’re always going to be an underdog.
“But that doesn’t deter Sam Goodman at all. He loves that underdog tag. It doesn’t change the way that he approaches that fight. A fight against Nick Ball is definitely a much more winnable fight. I believe he’ll win anyway – I’ve got every faith in Sam Goodman going out there and showing the world and really upsetting the division by taking that title from Nick Ball.”
