Sam Goodman has dismissed suggestions that Saturday’s fight with Nick Ball is easier than that he twice prepared for against Naoya Inoue.
The Australian has moved up to featherweight to challenge the WBA champion from England, and does so seven months after his long-term dreams of challenging the great Inoue were crushed.
It was in January when he was replaced by South Korea’s Ye Joon Kim as Inoue’s challenger for the undisputed junior-featherweight title, a month after their original fight date was postponed because of Goodman having suffered, while sparring, a cut.
That same cut re-opening contributed to Inoue, who has also since fought the Mexican-American Ramon Cardenas, moving on, and the 26-year-old Goodman therefore prioritising Saturday’s date with Ball.
It is little secret that Ball’s promoters Queensberry Promotions expect him, in the event of victory, to be Inoue’s next opponent and that Inoue is a so-called ambassador for Riyadh Season – the series of events associated with Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where on the undercard of Moses Itauma-Dillian Whyte, Ball-Goodman is taking place.
The fallout from the cuts he suffered – and the reality remains it would have hurt Goodman more than any other – perhaps means that victory on Saturday represents Goodman’s only hopes of a fight with Inoue being revived, but in Ball he is fighting an improving champion, and he told BoxingScene: “Some might see it that [Ball is easier than Inoue], but look, it’s a totally different fight, stylistically. It just presents a whole different challenge. I take each fight as it comes, and just prepare my best, and get ready to battle. That’s what I’ve done again.
“I’ve got a tough guy in front of me this week. It’s not a walkover fight by any means. It’s a fight I think I can win – I’ve prepared my absolute best. Now I’m ready to go shock a lot of people as well; there’s a lot of people who wrote me off in this one as well. Man, I’m ready to handle business and do a job on this guy. I think it’s just a different challenge.
“He’s a world champion. You don’t become a world champion without being any good. He’s got a few runs on the board, but that all stops on Saturday – I come in and take that belt off him and cement my place at the top.
“He uses his size to his advantage. He’s a strong fighter; he’s a pressure fighter; he’s fit, and he’s also got some skills as well, so he shows moments where he uses his feet as well. He’s a good package.
“I’ll show you on fight night [what he’s not so good at].
“At the time it was heartbreaking, you know? I look at how everything’s played out and it’s led me to this – this position in my life as well. I had to go through a bit, and at the time it was very, very tough, but everything happens for a reason, and now I’ve got this fight in front of me.”
Goodman was then asked for how long, like so many of his rivals, he had pursued a lucrative date with the Japanese icon Inoue, and he responded: “As soon as he, probably, won the undisputed bantamweight title [in 2022] I knew he was coming to super bantamweight. I knew I’d be at the top of the tree of that division by the time he picked up a belt or two, so I always knew we were on collision course in my own head. But things played out how it played out, and, yeah, this opportunity arose, and it was the quickest route to a world title, so it was a no-brainer.
“I took myself out of it emotionally; it happened. I’m not dwelling on that; I’m not thinking about that at the moment. My head’s at worrying about this fight, so I’m not dwelling on the past or worrying about any of that shit.
“It’s all healed up and ready to go. I’m good and ready to fight on Saturday, so no cuts – it’s good. I gave it plenty of time at the start of the year to heal up properly after the second time it happened, and it’s all smooth sailing as of now.
“This is the biggest opportunity of my life, and that’s what I’m thinking about. I’m not worried about what anyone else’s plans are. I’m just focused on myself and what I’ve got to do and the job I’ve got in front of me, and that’s all. I’m not worried about all the bullshit and all the talk around the sport. I don’t listen – if I listened to all of it I’d be sitting with them. I’m not worried and concerned about all the noise. It’s just noise, man. I’m worried about what I’ve got to do and achieving the lifelong goal I’ve had since I’ve been a young boy.”
Goodman represents the third challenger of the 28-year-old Ball’s reign as champion. He resisted asking the Australia-based Irishman TJ Doheny, a mutual opponent, for insights into Ball’s weaknesses and strengths, but in an attempt to adjust to not only his new weight division but the intense heat of Saudi Arabia he left his home of Albion Park, New South Wales to fly to nearby Dubai a week ahead of his arrival in Riyadh.
“It’s not as bad as I probably thought it would be – it’s just real dry,” he explained. "You’re just out in the desert – it’s a bit dry but it’s not too bad. It’s nice – I was a bit cold in Australia so getting a bit of heat and a bit of sun again is always good.
“The weight’s good. I was a good-sized super bantamweight, so it’s still a little cut to get to featherweight, but I’m super disciplined with everything around the sport and my diet, and I’m doing my best to get there as best as I possibly can. I’ve also sized him up a bit; I feel like I’ll be getting in there with the bigger body on fight night as well.
“We’ll assess all options [regarding weight] and what presents itself after this. My head’s not there at the moment. My head’s on the job I’ve got to do on Saturday, and just executing, and that’s it.
