Naoya Inoue and Sam Goodman are finalizing an agreement to fight on December 24 in Tokyo for Inoue’s undisputed junior featherweight title, sources told ESPN on Thursday.

The fight will be broadcast on ESPN+ on Christmas Eve morning in the US

Inoue, the third-ranked pound-for-pound boxer on ESPN, will face the Australian for the second year in a row. The Japanese star, known as “The Monster,” scored a seventh-round TKO against TJ Doheny last month.

According to ESPN BET, Inoue (28-0, 25 KO) was a -6500 favorite against Doheny, and while he will have a good chance of beating Goodman, the odds won’t be that high. Goodman (19-0, 8 KO) is ranked the No. 4 junior featherweight by ESPN and has proven his mettle with wins over fellow title challengers Ra’eese Aleem and Doheny.

The 25-year-old Goodman is coming off a July decision victory over Thai rival Thachtana Luangphon.

Inoue’s second defense of his undisputed world title will be his third fight this year and he will fulfill another mandatory obligation. The 31-year-old will have one more mandatory defense after the match against Murodjon Akhmadaliev from Uzbekistan.

Inoue, a future Hall of Famer, has not competed in the U.S. since June 2021, but is scheduled to return to fight stateside next year.

LOS ANGELES — Jose Ramirez sees Latino Night rival Arnold Barboza as a stepping stone to an even bigger fight with Teofimo Lopez in the near future.

“My dream has always been to become undisputed champion,” Ramirez told World Boxing News and other media outlets this week. “Barboza is standing in the way of me getting my titles back.”

Both Ramirez and Barboza are recent additions to Golden Boy Promotions, with founder Oscar De La Hoya and president Eric Gomez lined up the fighters on the company’s Nov. 16 card, sponsored by Riyadh Season. While the belt is not a foregone conclusion, the winner will likely receive a shot at the championship.

Ramirez and Barboza came face-to-face at the opening press conference WBN attended on Wednesday at the Mayan Theater in downtown Los Angeles, and it quickly became clear to us that there was hostility between the fighters dating back to when both were at the top of the rankings.

“I respect Jose Ramirez as a player and I respect Jose Ramirez as a person,” Barboza said. “But it’s personal… I’ve wanted this fight since 2019, but for some reason it never happened.”

Barboza said he had been calling on Ramirez to fight for years, but only managed to secure the fight when he signed with de la Hoya’s Golden Boy. “I want to acknowledge and thank Oscar,” he said.

In response, Ramirez pointed to his record as unified world boxing champion. “As a fighter, I fight whoever is in front of me,” said the 32-year-old.

Barboza, nicknamed Jaguar, fought many top opponents at 140 pounds, including Jose Zepeda, Maurice Hooker and Jose Pedraza. A victory over Barboza would be the best victory of his career to date. Likewise, Barboza’s victory would also be his greatest victory.

Ramirez told WBN and other media outlets that he would not be impressed by The Venue in Riyad. He has become accustomed to boxing on the international stage as an Olympian, amateur and even professional, defeating Ryusei Yoshida at the Cotai Arena in Macau in 2015.

Therefore, he will “want to make a statement” against Barboza as he looks to regain the WBC and WBO titles currently held by Alberto Puello and Teofimo Lopez respectively.

“As a fighter, I fight whoever is in front of me,” Ramirez said, dismissing any suggestion by Barboza that he was being shunned. He then said he moved to Golden Boy from Top Rank because he “wanted even bigger fights,” and now he faces Barboza in only his second appearance for the De La Hoya brand.

As for why he took this fight, he said it “excites him” because he wants to remind the world who Ramirez is. Barboza, he said, is merely a vehicle to demonstrate this.

But one thing is clear. Barboza may be the WBO No. 1 contender to challenge Lopez for the championship, but Ramirez wants to take that spot and fight for himself.

“I want to take his No. 1 spot and then challenge Teofimo Lopez,” Ramirez said. “This is what I have to do. My goal is to become world champion and I will work demanding to achieve it.”

James Pagan has a fresh opponent in his sights.

As confirmed by promoter Dmitriy Salita, the undefeated lightweight prospect will now face goalie Haskell Rhodes on October 18. The 10-round fight will take place at the Coca-Cola Music Hall in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Salita also announced that middleweight contender Da’Velle Smith will also be part of the “Large Time Boxing USA” event. Both fights will be broadcast live on DAZN (9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT).

Pagan (10-0, 4 knockouts) was originally scheduled to face Canadian Trevor Thonson in a fascinating clash of undefeated lightweights. Thonson reportedly had travel issues that forced him to withdraw from the fight.

The DAZN headliner will be Pagan’s first scheduled 10-round fight of his newborn professional career. The 24-year-old Grand Rapids, Michigan native has already dealt with above-average adversity.

Pagan defeated Roger Hilley by unanimous decision in his last fight on May 23. Both Pagan and Hilley entered the fight undefeated. Pagan’s return to the ring was delayed after he suffered a deep cut to his left eye from an accidental clash of heads in the first round.

In his previous fight on October 21 last year, Pagan defeated Braulio Rodriguez in six one-sided rounds. He also has a win over another undefeated fighter, Ronnell Burnett, after a stoppage on June 3 last year.

Rhodes (31-6-1, 16 KO), originally from Oklahoma City and currently living in Las Vegas, fought his last fight on August 31. The 36-year-old veteran knocked out Jonathan Perez in the first round, marking the fourth victory of his last six starts.

One of his two losses during that period was a one-sided decision loss to undefeated Floyd Schofield on July 8 last year.

Smith (9-0, 7 KO) will claim a knockout victory in his last fight on September 12. The 24-year-old Taylor, Michigan fighter defeated Esau Herrera de la Cruz in the third round. He has stopped four of his last five opponents.

Both Pagan and Smith are promoted by Salita and managed by Aaron Samson.

In the co-main event, undefeated Juan Carrillo (12-0, 9 KO) from Barranquilla, Colombia will face Gilbert Castillo Rivera (25-5-1, 9 KO) from the Dominican Republic in a 10-round fight. attack.

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