Japan’s undisputed super bantamweight world champion Naoya Inoue will face Korea’s Kim Ye-joon this month after Sam Goodman withdrew from a scheduled title fight due to injury, Inoue’s gym said on Saturday.
The undefeated Inoue’s fight with Goodman, which was scheduled for January 24 in Tokyo, has already been postponed from its original Christmas Eve date after the Australian challenger suffered a cut above his left eye during a December sparring match.
Goodman’s promoters, No Limit Boxing, announced Saturday that the 26-year-old top IBF and WBO title challenger was withdrawing from the fight after having his wound re-stitched in training.
“No Limit Boxing regrets to announce that Sam Goodman has been forced to withdraw from his scheduled January 24 fight against Naoya Inoue due to a re-injury to his eye,” the promoters said in a statement.
“We wish Sam a full and speedy recovery and will provide an update in due course.”
Inoue’s Ohashi Gym said the boxer, known as “Monster,” will still fight on Jan. 24, but will instead face Kim, who is ranked No. 11 by the WBO.
Inoue, 31, is 28-0 with 25 knockouts, while Kim, 32, has 21 wins and two losses, along with 13 knockouts and two draws.
“Of course, Inoue was surprised,” Ohashi Gym president Hideyuki Ohashi told reporters in Yokohama.
“This is his first experience fighting another fighter after a postponement, but both Inoue and I are positive about it.”
Goodman originally injured his left eye during his final training session before flying to Japan, the Australian’s promoter and manager told Sydney Daily Telegraph.
The newspaper reported that he needed four stitches and was told he would be unable to fight for four weeks.
Inoue defeated Ireland’s TJ Doheny in his last defense in Tokyo in September.
He is the second man to become undisputed world champion in two different weight classes since the beginning of the four-belt era in 2004. The first was the American Terence Crawford.
