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Mike Coppinger, ESPN Boxing Insider
Naoya Inoue and Sam Goodman are finalizing a deal for a Dec. 24 fight in Tokyo for Inoue’s undisputed junior featherweight championship, sources told ESPN on Thursday.
The fight will be streamed on ESPN+ on Christmas Eve morning in the U.S.
Inoue, ESPN’s No. 3 pound-for-pound boxer, will face an Australian for the second consecutive outing. The Japanese star, known as “The Monster,” scored a seventh-round TKO against TJ Doheny last month.
Inoue (28-0, 25 KOs) was a -6500 favorite against Doheny, according to ESPN BET, and while he’ll be heavily favored to defeat Goodman as well, the odds aren’t likely to be as lopsided. Goodman (19-0, 8 KOs) is ESPN’s No. 4 junior featherweight and has proved his mettle in wins over fellow contenders Ra’eese Aleem and Doheny.
Goodman, 25, is coming off a July decision win over Thai fringe contender Thachtana Luangphon.
Inoue’s second defense of his undisputed championship will be his third fight of the year and will fulfill another mandatory obligation. The 31-year-old will still owe one more mandatory defense afterward against Uzbekistan’s Murodjon Akhmadaliev.
Inoue, a future Hall of Famer, hasn’t competed in the U.S. since June 2021, but there are plans for him to return for a stateside fight next year.