Luckless Australian boxer Sam Goodman might have hit the jackpot after reviving his flagging fortunes with a unanimous points win over Mexican Cesar Vaca in Sydney.
Goodman improved his unbeaten record to 20-0 with a dominant performance at the Hordern Pavilion night on Wednesday that could propel the 26-year-old into a blockbuster world title shot in the US.
Goodman’s team will now petition for the world’s top-ranked IBF super-bantamweight fighter to be the mandatory challenger to face superstar Naoya Inoue.
Goodman might even wind up on the same card as his No Limit stablemate Tim Tszyu’s showstopper rematch with Sebastian Fundora in Las Vegas in July or August.
A world title crack at Inoue would be nothing but deserved after the 26-year-old Goodman had a $1 million battle with the Japanese in December cruelly snatched away by two sparring injuries.
Sam Goodman celebrates after winning against Cesar Vaca Espinoza. (Photo by Darrian Traynor/Getty Images)
Goodman descended into financial peril after, first, his scheduled Christmas Eve blockbuster against Inoue in Tokyo was postponed after the challenger suffered a cut over his left eye in training.
The Albion talent was then left devastated after the postponed January showdown was cancelled when he reopened the cut and was forced to undergo surgery.
Goodman faced losing the million-dollar home he bought late last year if he’d lost on Wednesday night.
He finished the high-stakes encounter with cuts around both eyes and was left suitably relieved to have survived without sustaining any more serious damage.
“It was a punch that got me with this one and then, f***, it was a beauty of a head butt that got me over here,” Goodman said after being awarded the contest 99-92, 99-91, 100-90 by the three judges.
“So the next two rounds were about managing to get through it and winning the fight.
“It was all about being smart the whole fight and getting that momentum back on the road to world titles.”
Meanwhile, Harry Garside has exorcised his Olympic demons with a crushing win in his return to professional boxing, beating Queenslander Charlie Bell by TKO in Sydney.
Behind a dominant left hand, Garside was never troubled in his first fight since crashing out of the Paris Olympics with referee Les Fear stopping the lightweight bout after five of the six rounds.
Garside received a cut above his left eye in the first round at Hordern Pavilion on Wednesday night, but controlled the fight from the beginning.
He said afterwards the cut never worried him.
“I’ve been cut many times in my life, bloody southpaws always get cut,” Garside said.
“I’ve definitely had it before, I haven’t been cut for many years but I feel like I just had to get back into gear and box nice and smart.”
The Olympic bronze medallist started to hammer home his advantage in the third round with his trademark quick feet allowing him to get in under Bell’s defence and retreat before the Queenslander could counter.
Garside’s left hand caused continuous trouble for Bell as he was able to cut Bell’s left eye in the first and make several blows to his opponent’s head in the third and fourth rounds.
In a sign of Garside’s dominance, Fear stepped into Bell’s corner at the end of the fourth round telling him to protect himself or he would be forced to stop the fight.
It proved the beginning of the end with the referee allowing only one more round before stepping in and awarding the fight to the former amateur champion.
Garside now has his sights set on higher honours, believing he has the ability to retake the Australian lightweight championship he won in 2022.
“I’m one of the most patriotic people you will meet,” Garside said.
“I want to try and win the Australian and, I don’t know why, but the Commonwealth title always spoke to me.”
Earlier, an instant classic played out for the Australian heavyweight championship with Stevan Ivic (7-0-1, 2 KOs) hanging on in a 10-round fight to retain his title by unanimous decision.
Challenger Toese Vousiutu (8-2, 7 KOs) looked to be on the ropes in the sixth round, being knocked down for a count of eight, but mounted a spirited comeback to push Ivic all the way.
© AAP
