Sam Goodman had waited his whole life to become a world champion. He might have to wait a little longer to sleep like one.
The Wollongong boxer was still running on adrenalin when he spoke to Fox Sports Australia on Monday morning, less than 12 hours after beating Ryosuke Nishida in Japan for the interim IBF super bantamweight title.
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“I’ve been trying to get to sleep and get rest, but I’ve been unable to,” Goodman said. “I’ve been staring at the ceiling pretty much all night.
“I’ve had one hour’s sleep, so it’s all a bit surreal.”
Goodman found his travelling crew after the fight, but left the serious celebrating to them. Twelve brutal rounds with Nishida were enough for one night.
“They were ripping in all day yesterday,” he said. “I caught up with a few of them afterwards, and then I got out of there pretty early and let them kick on. It’s not a great idea to go too hard after 12 rounds.”
There was nothing restrained about Goodman’s approach in the ring. He came out aggressively, setting a fierce pace against the former world champion.
“I knew coming over here that we had to bring war,” Goodman said.
“We just had to bring war.”
Watching on the post-fight broadcast, Australian world champion Andrew Moloney admitted he wondered whether Goodman had gone too hard, too early.
“I was actually a little bit worried,” Moloney said. “I thought, is he going to blow himself out? Can he sustain it for 12 rounds? But credit to him and his team, he did.”
Goodman says the defeat to Nick Ball was in the back of his mind. He did not believe he was robbed, but some of the scorecards stuck with him.
“I think a few of the scorecards were almost written before the bout happened,” he said.
“I just wanted to assert my dominance early and really show that no one’s taking this from me.
“I wanted to leave no doubt that there’s only one winner in that ring, and that was me.”
Goodman thought he was in front during the fight, although Nishida gave him plenty to solve. The Australian said the pace he set took a toll on him, too.
“He had moments as well. He was tough,” Goodman said. “I was throwing myself into exhaustion, and so there were tough moments in there for sure.
“He posed a few different looks in there for me that I had to adjust to at times. It was a real tough challenge.”
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Late in the fight, he felt Nishida starting to chase. Goodman moved more at range, believing he was still landing the better shots while making his opponent feel the urgency of the final rounds.
“I could feel the desperation from him,” Goodman said.
“I thought if I could sort of goose him a little bit and make him feel like he’s got to chase the fight, it looks like I’m well ahead.”
Then came the announcement he had spent his career working towards.
“It hasn’t really sunk in yet,” he said. “You’re just overcome with emotions when it happens. But it’s unbelievable, and doing it beside my team – they put in a monstrous effort to get me here.
“It means a lot to not just me, but a lot of other people as well who have played a massive part in this journey.”
Back at the hotel, Goodman’s phone was full of messages from Australia. He could not sleep, so he started answering them.
“I was like, ‘Ah well, bugger, I’ll get back to those people,’” he said. “I could really feel the love from back home. The support was immense.”
WHAT’S NEXT?
Goodman has joined a special line of Australians to enjoy world title success on Japanese soil.
Lionel Rose famously beat Fighting Harada in Tokyo to win the bantamweight crown in 1968. Johnny Famechon returned to Tokyo two years later and stopped Harada to defend his featherweight title, while Andrew Moloney won the IBF super flyweight belt in Japan in June.
What comes next may depend less on Goodman than on The Monster, Naoya Inoue.
Goodman could be elevated to full IBF super bantamweight champion if Inoue vacates the belt.
Moloney and Australian boxing manager Mike Altamura both told Fox Sports Australia during fight week they believed that was a strong possibility, with Inoue also linked to a blockbuster clash with Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez.
But after watching Goodman’s relentless display against Nishida, Tim Tszyu reckons Inoue would have plenty to think about if they do meet.
“I think he would be [worried],” Tszyu said on the post-fight broadcast.
“You’d think it’s a tough fight because Sam Goodman’s style with that pressure, with those thousands and thousands of punches, you automatically just get tired in a fight.
“When you’re tired, you can’t think straight, and that’s where you make mistakes. It’ll be a great fight to watch because The Monster throws with intention. It’d be very interesting.”
Goodman said he did not see Inoue on fight night, though the Japanese superstar had approached him after the rules meeting following the weigh-in.
“He shook my hand and wished me all the best,” Goodman said. “He was respectful when he came up.”
Whether they meet in the ring remains an open question.
“Who knows? I’ve put myself in the position for it to happen,” Goodman said. “It’s boxing. Anything can happen. I can’t predict the future, but I’ve done my job.”
First, he could do with some sleep.
“I think I’m going to get a bit of shut-eye in about 10 minutes.”
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Whether they meet in the ring remains an open question.
“Who knows? I’ve put myself in the position for it to happen,” Goodman said. “It’s boxing. Anything can happen. I can’t predict the future, but I’ve done my job.”
First, he could do with some sleep.
“I think I’m going to get a bit of shut-eye in about 10 minutes.”