Sam Goodman: July 10 Fight, Naoya Inoue & ‘Friend’ Liam Paro

With newly minted IBF super lightweight champion Liam Paro’s (25-0, 15 KOs) upset win over Subriel Matias (20-2, 20 KOs) fresh in the collective consciousness of the boxing world, most pundits are still feeling the aftershock of last month’s stellar performance by the 28-year-old Queenslander. To compatriot and number one contender at super bantamweight with the IBF and WBO, Sam Goodman (18-0, 8 KOs), however, Paro’s dominant 12-round display in his Puerto Rican foe’s hometown served to reaffirm his long-standing belief that Australian fighters belong among the best in the world.

Should he be successful against undefeated Thai fighter Chainoi Worawut (25-0-1, 15 KOs) on July 10 in Wollongong, Goodman will find himself continuing on a path towards what might be the toughest fight in the sport, a showdown with pound-for-pound great Naoya Inoue (27-0, 24 KOs).

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‘The Ghost’ is full of belief that he can follow in the footsteps of his countryman, no matter how stern the task may be. “It’s very motivating to see a fellow Aussie and someone I call a friend in the sport to go and do that. It’s very motivating and he’s done something a lot of people said he couldn’t do. I’m super happy for him,” 25-year-old Goodman told FightsATW.

“It hasn’t affected me and how I believe in myself or anything. I’ve always known it’s been possible for us to upset those sorts of guys and those sorts of names. He just proved it is possible to a few doubters. There’s always going to be people that say you can’t do it. You just stick true to yourself, and you believe in yourself and your team and the work you do and good things happen. That’s what we’ve done.”

Any thought of battling Inoue will be dashed if Goodman doesn’t get past Worawut, though, a fact that he is fully cognizant of. Ranked number eight with the WBC, the Bangkok native has been a busy customer since his 2018 debut, fighting at least four times a year and picking up a youth world title along the way. All of these achievements have been made in relative anonymity too, with all 26 of his professional bouts taking place in his home nation.

For Goodman, the nondescript nature of Worawut’s career to date makes the contest all the more dangerous, with the challenge leading to a razor-sharp focus in camp. “I know he’s not on a whole lot of people’s radars and they’re probably looking past this guy and looking to what’s next, but I’m firmly focused. I know he’s a worthy challenger. You don’t get ranked where he’s ranked without being a decent fighter,” he said.

“He was a name that’s been thrown around for a couple of fights now as well, so it’s someone who I’ve always known that’s a potential opponent. He’s undefeated, so he goes alright. Like I said, I’m not looking past him. I can’t be looking at a potential Inoue fight and having all my focus on that just yet. It’s all about winning this next fight. He’s coming to upset the party and I’m just making sure he’s no chance of making that happen.”

In Goodman’s eyes, such an approach indicates a high degree of mental toughness that has accompanied him throughout his career. This trait of having a strong will has had to be on full display in the build-up to the clash with Worawut when external circumstances are accounted for.

Many believed a date with Inoue would be next on the New South Welshman’s calendar, following the pair’s in-ring face-off in the aftermath of Inoue’s victory over Luis Nery (35-2, 27 KOs) at the Tokyo Dome in May. When it was announced that plans were moving in a different trajectory though, disappointment and confusion circulated among the Australian boxing public.

These attitudes were compounded by reports linking Inoue to a September title defense against former super bantamweight titlist TJ Doheny (26-4, 20 KOs), a fighter with a seemingly higher profile in Japan but one that Goodman defeated in March of 2023, no less. With conjecture and chatter swirling, Goodman has treated it for what it is: outside noise. “To be honest, I don’t pay too much attention to anyone who is really outside of my team, their opinions, or what they’ve got to say. Really, if I wouldn’t go asking for advice, I don’t take their criticism to heart as well,” he said.

“You’ve got to be a special sort of person where I’ll take your criticism on board. Or if you’re an experienced campaigner within the sport, of course, I’ll listen to you and look to learn as much as I can. At the end of the day, this is my job. I’ve got to work as well. This is how I make my bread. I’ve got to fight, I’ve got to stay active and if I want to win those big fights with the likes of Inoue, I don’t want to be going in there after a year of sitting out. It’s about staying active.”

Much like the honest cliche of ‘one game at a time’ that has come to define many professional sports teams across the world, Goodman has come to apply a similar mantra to his career. Yet his centers on a much smaller spectrum, with the idea of taking each passing moment as it comes serving as the focal point. As such, the task at hand is all that matters, and all eyes are turned solely to besting Worawut over 12 rounds or less. To him, looking at the finish line only has purpose when no hurdles are left to jump on the track.

“I’ve got to be dialed in. This is how I’ve got to be, and I know how tough the tests are at this level. There’s just no room in my life for anything else other than being focused. This is it. There’s nothing else in my life. There’s boxing, rest, eating food, and back to boxing,” he said. “You’re only in this sport for a certain amount of time, so while you’re still in it, you’ve got to be active. This is the type of mindset you’ve got to have. You’ve got to be entrenched in this game, and that’s what I am.

“I worry about a day at a time and just getting through my next session. That’s how my mindset has always been, so I just focus on putting one foot in front of the other, winning each fight as I have done. I’m right at the top of the mountain; I’m almost at the peak. I’ve got another guy to knock off first and then I can look to the future a little bit. Right now, there’s no room for looking at anyone else or looking at other things. Everything’s in the background at the moment.”

Liahm O'Brien

Liahm O’Brien is a boxing writer based in Australia. His work focuses on all levels of fighting, with interviews from boxers making their way in the game, to those competing for titles on major shows across the world. He has written for local online publications, The Inner Sanctum and Fight News Australia, and is a regular guest on The Unofficial Scorecard Podcast.

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