Sam Goodman is again in line for a title shot at junior featherweight after winning an IBF title eliminator, taking a unanimous decision over Rodrigo Fabian Ruiz on Sunday in Wollongong, Australia. Their match was the co-feature to Tim Tszyu vs. Denis Nurja at the WIN Entertainment Centre.
The scores were 118-110, 116-112 and a surprisingly close 115-113.
But the fact that Goodman won so comfortably seemed in doubt in the second round, which saw a rapid momentum shift. About 75 seconds in, Goodman landed a three-punch combination that stopped Ruiz in his tracks for a moment. But just 20 seconds later, Ruiz scored with a big left hand – clearly his favorite shot – that staggered Goodman.
Goodman was steadied in the third round, though he had to deal with a frustrating and ever-dangerous presentation from his opponent. Ruiz not only would move in and out, but he also would switch between orthodox and southpaw stances, using each to set up left-handed power shots.
In the fourth, Goodman emphasized defense by moving away when Ruiz approached, or evading shots when he couldn’t otherwise get out of range. Goodman sought to further frustrate Ruiz at the start of the fifth by working behind his jab, peppering him in the face repeatedly.
Yet by the halfway point of the fifth, Goodman and Ruiz were forehead to forehead, both men exchanging solid blows. Goodman soon remembered that he had legs and started to evade again, though Ruiz was still able to land a few good shots.
Goodman was back on the stick at the start of the sixth, forcing Ruiz to try to duck down and bull forward to close the distance. Goodman also scored with a right-hand lead on two occasions. Again at the midway point, Goodman was in close range, seemingly by choice, and still dominating the action, landing often while smothering, blocking or dodging much of what Ruiz threw.
Not that Goodman had completely avoided damage. He was dealing with significant bruising around his right eye, though he was likely grateful that he spent almost all of this match without the bad cuts that had twice left him unable to fight undisputed junior featherweight champion Naoya Inoue in late 2024 and early 2025.
In the eighth round with Ruiz, Goodman scored with single shots: a right hand upstairs, then a left hook to the body. Ruiz did shovel a nice left hook of his own into Goodman’s midsection. And for a period when Goodman was in midrange but no longer jabbing, Ruiz was emboldened to throw again, with moderate success.
Goodman remained in control in the ninth, and for good reasons: Ruiz was no longer the confident stalker. And Goodman hurt Ruiz with body shots, at least two on the beltline, that led him to drop his right elbow lower for the sake of protection.
Goodman sensed that the predator had become prey. He caught Ruiz with a left uppercut halfway into the 10th round. Ruiz’s mouth was open, trying to take in more air, and so Goodman looked to take his breath away with repeated body blows, followed by heavy hooks to the head.
Goodman kept at the body in the 11th round and seemed to have Ruiz in tough shape. Ruiz had his back on the ropes, covering up but also occasionally opening up to try to make a stand. Their heads collided and Goodman at last suffered a cut, though it was more to the side of his left eye, not obscuring his vision or endangering his victory.
Given how active the first 11 rounds had been, it’s no surprise that both men either took their foot off the gas in the 12th or just didn’t have enough gas left in their tanks. Goodman was content to coast to the decision win, while Ruiz was no doubt grateful for the respite and to make the final bell.
Goodman had of course been in position for a title shot before at 122lbs, only for Inoue to understandably move on after the challenger’s second sparring injury. Goodman instead returned last May with a decision over the 19-1-1 Cesar Vaca Espinoza and then moved up to featherweight, unsuccessfully challenging then-WBA titleholder Nick Ball and coming up short on the scorecards. Goodman then went back down to junior featherweight and nearly shut out the 10-0 Tyler Blizzard in December.
But Goodman will have to wait for Inoue, whose next match is set for a May superfight in Tokyo with countryman Junto Nakatani. It’s also uncertain whether Inoue will remain in the weight class afterward and, if so, whom he would prefer to face.
For now, Goodman can rest assured that he is the IBF’s No. 1 guy at junior featherweight, and that the sanctioning body has a long history of making sure that its mandatory contenders get their title fights.
Goodman, a 27-year-old from Albion Park in New South Wales, Australia, improved to 22-1 (8 KOs). Ruiz, a 25-year-old from Argentina, fell to 23-2 (17 KOs).
David Greisman, who has covered boxing since 2004, is on Twitter @FightingWords2. David’s book, “Fighting Words: The Heart and Heartbreak of Boxing,” is available on Amazon.
