Leading super bantamweight contender Sam ‘The Ghost’ Goodman 18-0 (8) insists he is ready to face undisputed 122-pound champion Naoya ‘Monster’ Inoue 26-0 (23).
The 25-year-old spoke about the potential fight after his four round drubbing of Mark ‘Magic Man’ Schleibs 13-3 (9) at the WIN Entertainment Centre in Wollongong, Australia on Wednesday night.
“If that’s the opportunity that it presents itself, absolutely,” Goodman said of a fight against Inoue, arguably the best pound-for-pound boxer on the planet.
“I am in this sport to be great. People wanna have a crack at people for what they think are risky fights – but aren’t they the fights you want to be in as a competitor?
“For all the armchair critics who say I can’t do it, I will say ‘up yours’ and show you I can.
“World titles, that’s the next stop – and we want them here [in Wollongong]. Whoever it is, any of them. I know I’m up to that level.”
Former IBF super featherweight champion Barry Michael was pleased with what he saw of Goodman in the Schleibs fight and said during the broadcast commentary that Goodman was not without a shot of beating the 30-year-old Inoue. The Japanese superstar had knocked out 15 of his past 16 opponents.
“It would be one of the biggest fights in Australian history and he is a chance of pulling off an upset,” Michael said.
“He has always been a beautiful boxer and he has always had impeccable timing.
“A brilliant exhibition of boxing. One of the most aggressive performances we have ever seen from him. He was really picking him apart.”
Fighting in front of a capacity crowd, Goodman showed he was a class about the overmatched Schleibs. The 30-year-old Melburnian came out winging hooks, but by the end of the round Goodman had tamed the beast.
The next three rounds were a masterclass in breaking down an opponent with speed, timing, footwork and feints. By the fourth round Schleibs was utterly befuddled with no idea where the next punch was coming from.
As Goodman unloaded on his on the ropes, referee Will Soulos stepped in to stop the carnage with just over a little over a minute remaining on the clock.
“It’s good to be home… that was unreal,” IBF and WBO number one contender Goodman said of his homecoming. “It was better than I could have ever imagined, everyone turned up and it was so rowdy. I’m so grateful for everyone that has turned out… we’re going to the top.”
After the fight Goodman addressed the bad blood in the lead up to the bout that saw Schleibs make a concerted effort to get under his skin.
“I know he’s not really like that as a bloke,” Goodman said. “I’ve met him many more times before the build-up to this event.
“I don’t get caught up in all that stuff and that’s my thoughts on that. I just think it was all for show and there was no real personal feeling behind it.
“It was just more annoying through the build-up, to be honest. He’s just a little pain in the arse.”
