Sam Goodman

Bio

Right then, Sam Goodman is the best super bantamweight in the world not named Naoya Inoue, and he has the worst luck in the division to go with it. The 27-year-old from Albion Park in New South Wales is 21-1 as a professional, and for two years he has been the man everybody agrees deserves a world title shot and somehow never quite gets one.

Make no mistake, he earned it the hard way. Goodman built his case on the Australian and regional scene with a style that is all engine and accuracy — not a big puncher by any stretch, but a fighter who wins rounds by simply being busier, tidier and more disciplined than the man opposite for twelve rounds. He very rarely has an off night.

Twice he was booked to challenge Naoya Inoue in Tokyo. Twice a cut suffered in sparring took the fight away from him before he ever got to the ring. That is about as cruel as this sport gets. His only defeat came up at featherweight against Nick Ball in Riyadh in 2025, a weight above his best against a genuine handful, and he came straight back down and got on with it.

He faces Ryosuke Nishida for the interim IBF super bantamweight title in Tokyo, with the winner moving into the mandatory position for Inoue. Goodman is chasing something Australian boxing has barely seen since Lionel Rose — a world championship won on Japanese soil. If he gets it, nobody in the sport will begrudge him a second of it.