A Christmas evening, a sip of coffee, and a thunderous boxing fight on the screen—that’s how a boxing fan would like to close off the year. What’s better than watching one of the high-voltage boxers defend his undisputed crown? Naoya Inoue will go through the ropes a third time this year, as he will take on his IBF mandatory, Sam Goodman.

The Japanese champion has been ordered to meet his IBF mandatory. The sanctioning body had already scheduled a purse bid for the fight on October 29. But it seems the two boxers’ promoters are already close to striking a deal and fixing a date on December 24 in Tokyo. Bob Arum revealed the same when he sat down with Dan Rafael.

The Top Rank lynchpin admitted that the negotiations between the two camps were going “swimmingly.” He said, “The negotiations between the Inoue camp and the Goodman camp have been going swimmingly .And we are just about ready to conclude those negotiations. And I’m very optimistic that fight will be held on December 24 on Christmas Eve in Japan, in Tokyo.”

That’s not it. Bob Arum, 92, also laid down the plan for Inoue, 31, to bring him to the United States for a “major fight”. The idea is to stage a spectacular event in Las Vegas after Inoue, at 28-0, defends his undisputed crown. The American promoter also revealed that he had held talks with Todd DuBoef and Bill Hornbuckle to look for a date in April. But who is the opponent? It’s a fighter cast in a similar mold, Junto Nakatani.

Naoya Inoue waits for Junto Nakatani to step up

Nakatani, 28, is coming off a knockout win against Petch Sor Chitpattana. The WBC bantamweight champion has alerted the bantamweight division with his brute knockout power, a characteristic that he shares with Inoue. But there have been rumors of him climbing to super bantamweight and challenging ‘The Monster’. It’s a proposition that the latter has accepted without any qualms.

Naoya Inoue, referring to Nakatani, had declared recently, “A young man wants to be at the top of the pound-for-pound rankings. So I have to wait for his move up in weight. I’m getting interested as he looks strong.” A fight between the two hinges on the result of Inoue vs. Goodman first and then figuring out the logistics and a date that suits all the parties. Arum wants to put Inoue on American soil in a blockbuster event and it seems picking Nakatani will ease his task.

What do you make of this coming fight between Naoya Inoue and Sam Goodman? Do you think a fight involving Junto Nakatani is possible in 2025? Let us know in the comments below.