On the 3rd, a press conference for “Prime Video Boxing 16” (September 27, Toyota Arena Tokyo) was held at a hotel in Tokyo. Takuma Inoue (Ohashi) and Tenshin Nasukawa (Teiken) will face off in a WBC World Bantamweight rematch. It was also announced that Ryosuke Nishida (Muto) will face Sam Goodman (Australia) in an IBF Super Bantamweight interim title bout, and Tomoya Tsuboi (Teiken) will face Ricardo Malajica (South Africa) in a WBC Super Flyweight title bout.
西田㊧と枝川会長 photo/Naoki Fukuda
The IBF Super Bantamweight Interim Title bout was arranged because Naoya Inoue (Ohashi), the four-organization unified champion, has no fights scheduled for the time being. Former bantamweight champion Nishida, who defeated Vazquez in February to earn the title shot, will face Goodman.
At the press conference, Nishida shared his impressions of Goodman, saying, “He has good balance, can fight at any range, and seems mentally strong,” before calmly adding, “I’ve been training so that I can outclass him at any range.”
Goodman is the man who once missed two opportunities to challenge Naoya Inoue due to his own injuries. Last summer, he challenged Nick Ball (UK) at featherweight but lost by decision, prompting him to return to super bantamweight.
Nishida expressed his determination, saying, “Although it’s an interim title, I believe that if I win this, I’ll have opportunities for various fights, so first and foremost, I absolutely cannot lose.” In addition to reigning champion Naoya Inoue, a rematch in the super bantamweight division against Junto Nakatani (M.T.)—to whom he lost in last year’s bantamweight unification bout—is likely to come into view. Chairman Takashi Edagawa, who won the rights to host this fight in Japan by outbidding Goodman’s camp, is also focusing on the opponent at hand, saying, “I think Nishida has really gotten stronger since moving up to the super bantamweight division,” and expressing his hope for Nishida’s victory.
Nishida has a record of 11 wins (2 KOs) and 1 loss. Goodman has a record of 22 wins (8 KOs) and 1 loss.
