Australian Sam Goodman’s decision to risk his status as mandatory challenger to super bantamweight megastar Naoya Inoue paid off with an excellent unanimous decision victory over unbeaten rising star Chainoi Worawut.
But the Aussie star suffered a potential broken hand, revealing after the fight that he injured it perhaps as early as the fourth round – and then felt it get significantly worse in the later stages.
25-year-old Goodman reasserted his status as a legitimate contender to Inoue, arguably the best pound-for-pound boxer on the planet, with a 117-111, 117-113, 119-109 victory over the dangerous eighth-ranked fighter from Thailand in a fight of outstanding quality.
Scott SLEEPS Hall – Calls out SBW! | 01:41
After former AFL premiership winner Barry Hall was demolished by exiled ex-NRL player Curtis Scott in a first-round humiliation, Goodman capped off the night with almost note-perfect performance.
The Australian improved even as the fight went on, showing his versatility by both going toe-to-toe in a slugfest, as well as using his excellent movement to box from range.
The Australian was forced to dig deep, but once again showed himself capable of finding another level and overcoming whatever adversity he faced.
That included the stunning revelation after the fight that he believed he broke his left hand perhaps as early as the fourth round and worsened it in the ninth – something he did not even tell his corner during the fight.
Despite victory affirming his mandatory challenger status, Goodman will now be desperately awaiting an update on a hand injury which could delay his Inoue world title shot.
Goodman roared: “We’re in Wollongong; they say the house always wins and this is my f***ing house! He ain’t beating me.”
Speaking of his hand, he said: “It was hurting in about round four or six and later in the fight I felt it hurt even more… we’ll go get it scanned but it shouldn’t put me out for too long. I’ll be back in by year’s end for the world title.
“We want ‘The Monster’ (Inoue). Let’s go!”
AS IT HAPPENED
Worawut threw with explosive power from the opening bell, looking composed despite being in front of a parochial Wollongong crowd baying for a Goodman victory – and even dancing for the crowd between rounds!
But Goodman was more than willing to remain in the firing line and trade shots, finding his range by the third round and improving further in the fourth with some big shots on the counter.
Yet that only made Worawut fire harder in reply, loading up on power punches.
“We’ve won every round,” Goodman was told after a back-and-forth opening four rounds – but he was warned by his corner again of Worawut’s explosive danger and ability to go the full 12 rounds.
Goodman wore a barrage of big shots in the fifth as Worawut showed his world class ability. But he got back with a great left hand before showing his excellent defence as the Thai man tried to respond.
But Worawut continued to land well, including a flush right hand early in the sixth that forced Goodman backwards in desperate evasive manoeuvres. Worawaut appeared to slow down in the second half of the round, and Goodman began to take advantage in the seventh with good combination punching.
The fight had gone to an even higher level, with the pair trading – and landing – back and forth. Goodman rocked Worawut’s head back with a straight right in the eighth, and the Australian was landing in combinations with greater regularity. Yet all the time Worawut was landing plenty of powerful punches as the pair traded from the pocket.
After eight rounds, the pair were level with 156 punches landed apiece, though Worawut had thrown around 200 more in total.
Goodman’s movement and jabbing allowed him to evade his rival’s power punching and land his own shots, yet the Australian was more than happy to throw caution to the wind and go toe-to-toe, much to the crowd’s delight.
Worawut’s corner wasted plenty of time in repairing their man’s glove taping during a delay in the ninth round, yet Goodman remained calm after the pause and finished the round well.
Worawut changed to southpaw and had some success in the tenth as he looked increasingly desperate, and the Aussie looked in some strife after taking three clean punches. Yet Goodman landed a great left hook followed by a right, and landed another big right hand that forced Worawut back to an orthodox stance.
With Worawut seemingly unable to find another level, Goodman looked increasingly crisp and precise, controlling the ring with his excellent movement.
Worawut chased and hunted with desperation in the final round, but Goodman clearly felt in front on the scorecards as he defended and picked his shots with composure and patience.
BIG BAD BARRY BATTERED
47-year-old former AFL enforcer Barry Hall was utterly crushed on Wednesday night by exiled former NRL player Curtis Scott, who claimed a first-round knockout in simple fashion.
Scott, just 26 to Hall’s 47 years, entered the fight with two pro boxing wins, both by knockout.
Hall had beefed up 12kg since his last fight, but ‘Big Bad Barry’ was helpless against the aggressive, and much lighter, Scott from the very first bell.
Scott almost immediately got through his opponent’s defence and hardly took a shot from the former AFL premiership winner as he sent Hall crashing down with punch after punch before the referee finally waved it off.
“The minute he got hit he just fell apart,” boxing great Barry Michael said. “He wasn’t right… he had no legs at all.”
“I swear to God it was the exact first shot that Sonny Bill Williams threw,” Australian UFC icon Alexander Volkanovski said, noting that Scott had clearly learned from Hall’s previous defeat.
“I’ll fight anyone,” Scott declared, before saying “Sonny Bill makes sense” – heralding a boxing match-up that is sure to draw plenty of interest.
Scott v Hall – Full Fight Highlights | 03:23
AUSSIE ENDS FIGHT OF THE YEAR WITH KILLER FINISH
Australia’s Liam Wilson’s lightweight debut was undoubtedly the fight of the night – and a fight of the year contender – as the former two-time world title contestant at super featherweight moved up in weight to share a gruelling slugfest with Youssef Dib.
And he produced a trio of monstrous left hooks to crumple ‘Uwee’ Dib in one of the most devastating finishes of his career – and at the perfect time, with the fight getting away from him.
Wilson started well, but increasingly struggled to get past Dib’s excellent movement.
Wilson’s nose was left badly bloodied in the fifth round, and Dib poured on the pressure in the sixth round as momentum completely swung his way. But Wilson fought back brilliantly in the seventh and clearly hurt his opponent with some vicious body shots – only to receive plenty in return.
Dib’s straight right hand was the punch of the night at that stage, landing with regularity as he produced one of the finest performances of his career.
Then it all changed in an instant when Wilson landed a disintegrating left hook – and another two in quick succession as Dib crashed to the canvas in the eighth.
Barry Michael declared: “What a fight this is!”
“Liam Wilson has the left hook from hell.”
Wilson said: “I had to dig deep… this is my first fight at lightweight as well… there were some tough moments in that fight.”
It was just a second defeat in Dib’s 23rd fight, while Wilson then called out George Kambosos for an all-Australian blockbuster.
Liam Wilson violently FLATLINES Dib | 01:24
BLOG
Re-live all the action from the entire card in our live blog below. If you can’t see the blog, click here.
FULL RESULTS
MAIN CARD (7pm AEST)
Sam Goodman def. Chainoi Worawut via UD (117-111, 117-113, 119-109)
Curtis Scott def. Barry Hall via R1 TKO
Liam Wilson def. Youssef Dib via R8 KO
Mounir Fathi def. Anton Markovic via R1 TKO
Brandon Grach def. John Maila via R3 TKO
Billy Polkinghorn def. Jordan Kasilieris via UD (49-45, 49-44, 50-43)
PRELIMS (5pm AEST)
Liam Talivaa def. Johan Linde via UD (60-54 x3)
Shanell Dargan def. Pannaporn Kaewpawong via UD (50-45 x3)
Amber Amelia def. Connie Brown via UD (59-55 x3)
Alessandro Grippa def. John Weetra via UD (38-37 x3)
HOW TO WATCH
The Prelims will be on Fox Sports 503 and Kayo from 5pm AEST, before the action switches to pay-per-view at 7pm.
Order Now with Main Event on Kayo Sports.
Grach drops Maila with VICIOUS flurry | 01:23
‘THE BULL’ MAULS RIVAL
Former talented amateur Brandon ‘The Bull’ Grach has delivered a truly vicious knockout of John Maila in a thrilling heavyweight brawl.
Grach was in deep trouble at times in the first two rounds, rocked by some huge shots from Maila as the pair traded bombs. But Grach adjusted well mid-fight and a perfectly-timed left hook wobbled Maila in the third round. Maila somehow managed to stay on his feet, briefly at least, before Grach put his opponent on the ropes and rained down punches. The referee dived in to wave things off – but Malia was already tumbling to the canvas.
Commentator Ben Damon roared: “You mess with the Bull, you get the horns!”
“A left hook from hell,” he labelled the perfect punch that started the finish.
“Man that was awesome, hey,” Grach said as he took his record to 3-0.
The victory – and his rapid rise – put the entire heavyweight division on notice, commentators agreed.
MORE BOXING NEWS
Weigh-in chaos erupts as Hall unveils overhauled physique
Scott makes big Gallen declaration, responds to ‘no Latrell’ sledge
Fast Fathi FLOORS Markovic several times | 01:13
DOUBLE BACKFLIP AFTER STUNNING KO
Moroccan boxing prospect Mounir Fathi delivered a picture-perfect first round performance at Wollongong, delivering a brutal knockout before back-flipping off the top rope in celebration…twice.
Fighting on the undercard of Australian Sam Goodman’s world title eliminator with, Fathi put on a show that will frighten plenty of top-ranked boxers.
“I think he’s going a long way,” Australian UFC superstar Alex Volkanovski said in commentary for Main Event. “He looked incredible, very impressive.”
It began with a fantastic right uppercut before a counter overhand right sent Markovic tumbling to the floor.
“The timing Fathi has is amazing, that was perfect,” Australian boxing great Barry Michael said.
The second knockdown came in a brutal flurry of punches that saw Markovic crash to the floor and hit his head against the canvas. Somehow, he was able to get up again and was still swinging despite copping another barrage. Finally, the referee stepped in to prevent any further punishment.
The end came just 2m 11 seconds into the first round, before doing two backflips in succession off the top ropes.
“What’s my name? I’m the maestro baby,” Fathi said.
Asked why he flipped twice, he replied simply: “I’m excited, bro!”
MORE: Volk’s huge call after boxing gun’s epic first round KO … and TWO backflips
‘Looks small’ Sam not impressed by rival | 01:05
STUNNING ANNIHILATION SIGNALS NEW STAR
Billy Polkinghorn knocked down Jordan Kasilieris twice in a brutal five-round beatdown to earn the second victory of his professional career.
Polkinghorn, a West Ham United fan, walked out to the Hammers’ iconic theme ‘Forever Blowing Bubbles’ and delivered a masterful display in a unanimous decision win (49-45, 49-44, 50-43).
Two knockdowns did the damage for Polkinghorn, with the first a thunderous right hook in the opening round and the second a crisp body shot in the third that left Kasilieris gasping for air. The future is bright for Polkinghorn, an Australian representative at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, as he continues to plough through the domestic super lightweights division under the management of Glen Jennings, who boasts the likes of Tim and Nikita Tszyu in his stable.
BIZARRE SCENES IN EPIC FIRST FIGHT
The evening began in bizarre fashion as professional debutant Alessandro Grippa claimed victory against John Weetra – despite oddly losing his mouthguard four times in as many rounds.
Grippa, a street fighter, fought in regular Asics joggers rather than specialised boxing boots. And he was clearly also unfamiliar with another crucial piece of boxing equipment, with the talented rookie losing his mouthguard repeatedly – including twice in the fourth and final round.
After the third such occasion, the referee said: “If you don’t bite down on that sucker and you lose it again, it’s going to be a point taken off. You got me?”
Australian boxing great Barry Michael declared in commentary: “Honest to god, they should change the rules! Three times losing the mouthguard, you get an extra minute (of rest).”
After Grippa lost the mouthguard for a fourth time, the referee did indeed penalise him a point.
But it wasn’t enough to stop Grippa winning a unanimous 38-37×3 victory, showing plenty of power and good technique – and cementing himself as one to watch in the future.
In the second fight of the night, 35-year-old mother of three Connie Brown (2-0-1) fell to her first defeat after her remarkable start to boxing in the super bantamweight division.
26-year-old Amber Amelia, who has shown impressive resilience in her career given she has struggled with chronic fatigue, moved to 5-3 with a 59-55×3 unanimous decision win.
Amelia said: “I usually come in and brawl, I’m not very smart. I like to fight!”
But she added that she attempted to fight smarter this time around – and the battle was an all-action, high quality bout with Amelia’s precise power punching making the difference.
DARGAN DAZZLES IN NAIDOC WEEK DEMOLITION
Popular Aboriginal boxing star Shanell Dargan then claimed a sublime victory over Thailand’s Pannaporn Kaewpawong, with Dargan denied a first-ever knockout victory only by the nigh-unbelievable resilience of her opponent.
Dargan came out swinging and never looked backwards, lighting up her 4-1 Thai rival with a stunning barrage of punches that constantly threatened to end the fight early.
Dan Ginnane said in commentary: “This is a different version of Shanell Dargan, this is a more vicious version of Shanell Dargan tonight… it’s a sight to behold!”
Dargan was awarded shutout 50-45 scorecards by all three judges, taking her record to 5-1-2 as she continues to improve with every bout.
“Man, she is tough as! I knew she would be,” 31-year-old Dargan said.
The fight began with a brilliant walk-out celebrating Dargan’s Indigenous heritage, something she said she was especially proud of given it is currently NAIDOC week.
OLD SPARRING RIVALS DO BATTLE
Heavyweight southpaw talent Liam Talivaa, 29, then comfortably defeated his former sparring partner Johan Linde – a man with one of the most interesting stories in Australian boxing.
Linde was a star amateur with 57 wins from 68 amateur fights who competed at the Olympics for Australia in 2012.
Linde then hung up his gloves and eventually went on to become an advisor to then-NSW Premier Dominic Perrotet.
Linde then returned to boxing last year aged 40 and racked up a 4-1-1 record from his professional fights in the year since – with all four wins coming by knockout.
6-foot-6 Linde boasted an 18cm reach advantage over his younger opponent, who he previously sparred a year ago.
But it was Talivaa who dominated the bout, throwing far more than Linde and controlling proceedings from start to finish. Talivaa had never previously gone beyond four rounds, but hardly waned as the fight wore on – seeing off a late rally from Linde to claim a 60-54×3 unanimous decision win.
