OFFICIALLY. The absolute world champion was left without a rival

Absolute world champion in the second lightest weight (up to 55.3 kg) Naoya Inoue (28–0, 25 KOs, Japan) was without an opponent two weeks before the fight.

IBF mandatory challenger Sam Goodman (19–0, 8 KOs, Australia) suffered a re-injury and was forced to withdraw from the bout. The show, which was planned to be held on January 24 in Tokyo (Japan), is in danger of being canceled. Promoter Inoue is trying to find a new opponent for the Japanese “Monster” as soon as possible.

Inoue and Goodman were originally supposed to meet in December, but the Australian contender suffered a dissection, so the fight was postponed to January. The day before, it became known that Sam’s injury has worsened – he is expected to miss six months.

𝐂𝐀𝐍𝐂𝐄𝐋𝐋𝐄𝐃 🚨

Naoya Inoue v Sam Goodman will not go ahead on Jan 24th, due to Goodman experiencing “a recurrence of his eye injury”. The Monster WILL remain on the card against a new opponent… 🇯🇵

Read more: https://t.co/kTwvpTV8ex pic.twitter.com/R2q24ZS8Zq

— BoxingScene.com (@boxingscene) January 11, 2025