Sam Goodman rolls the dice against Chainoi Worawut as December’s Naoya Inoue fight approaches

Junior featherweight Sam “The Ghost” Goodman will risk a shot at undefeated 122-pound champion Naoya Inoue when he takes on Thailand’s tough Chainoi “The Rockman” Worawut at the WIN Entertainment Center in Wollongong, NSW, Australia. next wednesday night.

Goodman’s do-or-die battle. Defeat for the 25-year-old Australian from Albion Park will put him at the back of the line; a victory would simply see him retain his position.

So why did you take up the fight?

“It was on the cards, it looked like there was a chance for me to fight for the next world title. That’s the reason for that,” said Goodman (18-0, 8 KOs) speaking to The Ring..

“As you have seen over the past 12 months, I like to stay busy. I train all year round. And after the last fight, I thought it would be another good test to fight a world-class person and get back out there with a world-class opponent before I face the likes of Inoue.”

Goodman has been keeping a busy schedule. Except for the first year of COVID-19 in 2020, he has boxed at least three times a year throughout his career. Last year, he picked up the gloves four times, defeating Ring contenders Ra’eese Aleem (20-1, 12 KOs) and TJ Doheny (26-4, 20 KOs), and also claimed the heads of Miguel Flores (25-5-1, 12 KOs) and Zhong Liu (19-1, 7 KOs). All those victories were points.

Work is important in this game.

“It’s not a breakdown of skills or anything, it’s about building and building on what I’ve already done and going hard before I get to the biggest fight of my life. That’s really what it’s all about,” said The Ring’s No. 4 junior featherweight, who is coming off a fourth-round knockout of Mark Schleibs in March.

“Another good, tough test; I went through it and went through it with flying colors before moving on to the biggest fight of my life.”

Goodman got an uppercut from Mark Schleib in his last fight. (Photo courtesy of No Limit Boxing)

Bangkok’s Worawut, also known as Thachtana Luangphon (25-0-1, 15 KOs), won’t be taking a trip to Australia for a free holiday and a packet of cream biscuits. The grappling-oriented Muay Thai boxer has a big right hand and a short left hook, weapons the 27-year-old will be looking to take on Goodman in what will be his first fight outside his home country.

“He doesn’t have a bad eye and he’s comfortable here,” Goodman said of his opponent. “He’s calm, but I don’t think he’s faced many difficulties in his career. I think I have more than enough skills to frustrate anyone in the division. Not just to frustrate them, but to make them second guess what they are doing in the ring. I think there are many things I could use.

“My power, I think, will be able to control the pace of the battle and where it happens.”

In a recent interview with Wasim Mather on this website, Worawut spoke about Goodman’s skills as a boxer.

“Sam Goodman is a very good fighter with fast speed. He is always ready to attack and has a good hand,” he said.

“It’s just like another war. For more than two months, I trained 100%. My goal is to fight Inoue; it’s my dream, but I need to win the fight against Goodman first.”

There is a lot of pressure on both boxers going into this fight with the biggest prize in the weight class waiting for the winner.

“Beating me will change the way Worawut works,” said Goodman. “I know that. Like I said before, I just focus on myself and what I have to do.

“I’m not too worried about what he’s thinking or what kind of pressure he’s putting himself under. I just focus on getting the job done and doing it well. That’s where my head is right now.

“I don’t think too much about it. I’m excited for fight week again, I’m fighting a kid in my hometown it could be the last fight here for a bit, but who knows? I just enjoy everything that comes with it. But I am very focused on this. I’m in the best shape of my career and I’ve done everything right, so I’m not taking chances.”

Japanese superstar Inoue (27-0, 24 KOs), The Ring Magazine No. 2 pound-for-pound boxer in the world, he is the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

The 31-year-old from Yokohama is expected to return to action in September, while a resurgent Doheny has once again been tipped as a possible contender. The 37-year-old Australian Irishman has successfully built his profile in Japan with three consecutive knockout victories against strong opposition last year.

Talking to Fox Sports Australia in late May, Inoue’s American promoter, Bob Arum, expanded the program for the 122-pound world champion.

“The plan is for Inoue to fight again in Japan in September. And depending on how everything went wrong from there, he would fight again at the end of the year, maybe in Riyadh,” said the head of Top Rank.

“And both Sam Goodman and the Irish kid (Doheny) are great opponents. I had the opportunity to have a brief conversation with Sam this week in Tokyo and I was very impressed with him and his demeanor. So whether he’s going to fight Inoue in September or December, I don’t know.

“But he will be fighting Inoue this year.”

Goodman knows what he’s risking by facing Worawut, but he believes he’ll be better off after Inoue’s fight in five months’ time.

“That’s the plan. Our plan has always been to find the December battle we are facing. That is what we are aiming for. “Everything I’ve done this year is a step towards that big goal,” said Goodman.

“It’s in the back of my mind and it pushes me every day. It’s close, but there’s still a lot of work to be done. And it starts on July 10th again. I’ve got another guy to get through, and once I’m done with him, the focus will be on that day in December.”

Australian-based boxing journalist Anthony Cocks has been covering the sport for over 20 years for various publications and online publications.

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