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Australian super bantamweight Sam Goodman has finally got his world title shot, and will take on undisputed champion Naoye Inoue in Tokyo on Christmas eve.
Australia's undefeated super bantamweight star Sam Goodman has lined up a Christmas eve Tokyo title showdown with Japanese sensation Naoya Inoue.
Four-division champion Inoue will make a third defence of his undisputed crown in the 55kg class within a calendar year looking to add another Australian scalp to his collection.
Inoue fought Jason Moloney in Las Vegas in 2020, scoring a seventh-round knockout victory.
He is one of only three male boxers in history, along with Terence Crawford and Oleksandr Usyk, to become the undisputed champion in two weight classes in the four-belt era, also holding multiple world championships in four weight classes.
This year Inoue defeated Mexico's Luis Nery in May and Ireland's TJ Doheny in September, both by technical knockout.
Goodman is also unbeaten (19-0, 8 KOs) but "The Monster" presents by far the biggest challenge for the 26-year-old, boasting a record of 25 knock-outs from his 28 victories.
The Wollongong product, who is the mandatory challenger in the WBO ranks, says he will be ready after calling out Inoue for almost a year.
The WBO, WBC, WBA and IBF belts will all be on the line.
His most recent bouts have been against Mark Schleibs by TKO in four rounds in March while he scored a unanimous decision against Thai boxer Thachtana Luangphon in July.
While it's Goodman's first fight overseas, Inoue has won his last four fights at the Tokyo venue Ariake Arena.
"I'm not worried about what it means to be underdog, or who does and doesn't believe in me. It's none of my concern what others think about the fight," Goodman told Fox Sports.
"I believe I can win this fight and so does my team.
"That's why I'm doing this. It's all about winning this fight, and I know I can do it.
"I haven't worked this hard for a world title shot … I've worked this hard to go win all the belts."