The WBO Orders Sam Goodman To Submit Injury Details To Maintain Mandatory Status

Earlier today, the WBO posted on their social media account that super bantamweight contender Sam Goodman (19-0, 8 KOs) must provide medical documentation to them within the next 10 days for his latest injury/cut. This order comes after Goodman was forced to postpone the December 24 undisputed fight against the champion Naoya Inoue (28-0, 25 KOs) and then, weeks later, pull out of the rescheduled fight altogether due to a cut during training camp on his left eye which postponed the original fight date.

Goodman formally requested to maintain his status as the mandatory challenger for the WBO title so that he could once again schedule a fight with the winner between Inoue and Ye Joon Kim (21-2-2, 13 KOs) on January 24. Below is the formal response by the WBO to Goodman and his team.

On January 11, 2025, WBO President Gustavo Olivieri, Esq., received an email communication regarding the subject fighter reporting an injury sustained during training. The injury, affecting his left eye, prevents him from participating in the scheduled bout against Naoya Inoue on January 22,  2025, in Tokyo, Japan. According to your email, Mr. Goodman is prohibited from engaging in any  physical contact until April 11, 2025. His availability to compete is projected for either May or June  2025. Consequently, on behalf of Team Goodman, you are requesting that his WBO Mandatory Challenger status be upheld. 

Having considered the foregoing, Team Goodman is HEREBY ORDERED to submit to the WBO,  within the next 10 days from the issuance of this notice, a detailed explanation of his injury, including medical findings, recovery prognosis, and a statement from his licensed physician  specifying when he will be physically and medically cleared to return to active competition. Failure  to comply with this order will result in the Committee’s intervention to enforce the WBO  Regulations of World Championship Contests, and Mr. Goodman will forfeit all rights under these  regulations without further notice or hearing. 

Re: Interim Medical Certification Jr. Featherweight Contender Sam Goodman https://t.co/wiYHcfING3

— WBO (@WorldBoxingOrg) January 15, 2025

In closing, this Committee reserves the right to render any further rulings necessary, appropriate,  and in alignment with the purposes, policies, and intent of the WBO Rules and Regulations of World  Championship Contests. This includes actions deemed in the best interest of boxing and the Jr. Featherweight Division.

The documentation Goodman has to provide to the WBO will likely get resolved in the coming days but this also points towards the new president, Gustavo Olivieri, Esq., who is showing that there is a new sheriff in town and he’s going to be keeping an eye on these types of situations more often than none.

Abraham Gonzalez

Abraham Gonzalez is the founder of FightsATW. His journalistic work has been published and used across several platforms to include online, network TV and promotional companies. He is an American Public University alumnus and a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA). Abraham was the Managing Editor for NYFights, Big Fight Weekend, contributed to FanSidedMMA and ProBoxTV.

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