Features
[JAPAN SPORTS NOTEBOOK] Naoya Inoue to Fight Injury Replacement Ye Joon Kim on January 24
Sam Goodman sustained a recurrence of an injury above his left eye on January 11 and he withdrew from his super bantamweight bout against Naoya Inoue.
For the second time in as many months, Sam Goodman was injured during a sparring session while preparing to fight undisputed super bantamweight champion Naoya Inoue.
After the first incident on December 14, 2024, in Sydney, the Inoue-Goodman fight, originally scheduled for Christmas Eve, was postponed until January 24 at Tokyo's Ariake Arena.
But Goodman, 26, is now out of the picture. He pulled out of the fight on Saturday, January 11 after sustaining a second injury above his left eye.
South Korean Ye Joon Kim (21-2-2, 13 knockouts) was named as Goodman's replacement on Saturday. The 32-year-old is the WBO's 11th-ranked super bantamweight.
Goodman is ranked No 1 by both the WBO and the IBF. In his final training session in Sydney in mid-December before a planned flight to Japan, he sustained a cut that required four stitches.
On Saturday, Goodman absorbed a punch that reopened the cut above his left eye, a more severe cut than the initial one. The Australian will undergo plastic surgery to repair the damage, said his promoter Matt Rose of No Limit Boxing.
Rose summed up the disappointment of Goodman's withdrawal from the title bout by saying, "It's just devastating," Fox Sports reported. "After everything Sam went through the first time around, and now to have it happen again … I really don't know what to say."
Naoya Inoue Now Prepares to Fight Korean Challenger
Now, with less than two weeks until his rescheduled title bout, Inoue is forced to make preparations for a new opponent.
Regardless of who the opponent is, Inoue (28-0, 25 KOs) is focused on the task at hand.
"To be honest, I was surprised, but I am grateful to [Ohashi Promotions] chairman [Hideyuki] Ohashi for providing me with an opponent even in this situation," Inoue said in a written statement, ESPN.com reported. "With less than two weeks until the match, we've managed to switch gears."
It will be Inoue's first fight since he earned a seventh-round technical knockout of TJ Doheny on September 3, 2024.
Ohashi, who doubles as chairman of the Ohashi Boxing Gym in Yokohama, said he wasn't stunned that Goodman withdrew from the title match.
"I had expected something like this might happen," Ohashi was quoted as saying by Kyodo News, referring to a last-minute fight replacement. "Inoue had been training over the New Year holidays and I didn't want that effort to go to waste."
If Naoya Inoue conquers Kim, Mexico's Alan Picasso, the WBC's No 1-ranked challenger (31-0-1, 17 KOs), is a likely next opponent for him in April in Las Vegas.
RELATED:
- [JAPAN SPORTS NOTEBOOK] Naoya Inoue Title Fight Postponed Until January 24
- Naoya Inoue to Fight Sam Goodman on Christmas Eve
Track and Field
Radcliffe Set to Make Marathon Return in Tokyo
Paula Radcliffe is ending her marathon retirement.
The longtime former women's world record holder is set to compete in the Tokyo Marathon (on March 2) and Boston Marathon (on April 21), she announced on Monday, January 6.
A four-time Olympian who ran her last marathon in 2015, Radcliffe revealed her running plans on "Paula's Marathon Run Club," her new podcast.
Radcliffe, now 51, set the women's world record at the 2003 London Marathon with a time of 2 hours 15 minutes, 25 seconds and held the record until 2019.
She won the London Marathon three times and triumphed on three occasions in the New York City Marathon. Radcliffe also collected the gold medal in the women's marathon at the 2005 IAAF World Athletics Championships in Helsinki.
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Basketball
Gaines to Lead the Japan Women's National Team
Former NBA player and assistant coach Corey Gaines, who won the 2009 WNBA title as the head coach of the Phoenix Mercury, has been hired as the Japan women's national team's new bench boss.
The Japan Basketball Association announced Gaines' new coaching gig on Friday, January 10.
Gaines replaces Toru Onzuka, whose contract was not renewed for 2025.
The Japan women's team captured the silver medal under Onzuka's predecessor, Tom Hovasse, at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. Three years later, the squad was winless at the Paris Games.
Gaines, 59, began serving as an associate head coach under Hovasse, who took over as the men's national team boss after the Tokyo Olympics, in 2022. And now Gaines will begin a new quest: taking over Hovasse's old squad and looking to revive it.
"I am very honored and proud to be a part of this team's journey back to greatness," Gaines said in a statement. "The road ahead will be challenging, but together we are determined that nothing is unattainable."
EASL Update: Dragonflies Book a Spot in the Semifinals
The reigning B.League champion Hiroshima Dragonflies defeated the visiting San Miguel Beermen 94-63 on Wednesday, January 8 in an East Asia Super League Group A match.
With the win, the Dragonflies improved to 4-1 in the group phase of the competition and clinched a spot in the EASL Final Four this spring.
Nick Mayo and Keijiro Mitani had 18 points apiece for Hiroshima, while teammate Kerry Blackshear nearly notched a triple-double (11 points, 15 rebounds and nine assists).
Torren Jones paced San Miguel (0-4), a Philippines Basketball Association squad, with 24 points.
In other EASL action on the same night, the New Taipei Kings routed the visiting Ryukyu Golden Kings 99-63.
Ryukyu, a perennial B.League title contender, fell to 4-1 in Group B. New Taipei improved to 2-2.
The Golden Kings have already clinched a spot in the EASL semifinals.
NeoPhoenix, Alvark Reach the Emperor's Cup Semifinals
In other basketball news, the semifinal pairings for the 100th All Japan Basketball Championship, commonly known as the Emperor's Cup, are now set.
The host San-en NeoPhoenix beat the Gunma Crane Thunders 79-77 on January 8 and the visiting Alvark Tokyo triumphed 75-70 over the tourney's two-time defending champion Chiba Jets on the same night.
In the semifinals on February 5, Ryukyu will face visiting San-en and Hiroshima will play host to Tokyo.
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Rugby
Matsunaga Helps Lead Toshiba to a 4-0 Start
Takuro Matsunaga leads Japan Rugby League One in points in the 2024-25 season through Saturday, January 11.
The 26-year-old standout for Toshiba Brave Lupus Tokyo has 45 points in four matches, accumulating points with tries (two), goals (13) and penalty goals (three).
Matsunaga's impact has made a difference for his team. Toshiba is 4-0 to open the new season.
In the 2023-24 campaign, he had 20 points in total.
Soccer
Furuhashi Impresses in Celtic FC's Rout of Ross County
Kyogo Furuhashi bagged two goals in Celtic FC's 4-1 victory over Scottish Premiership foe Ross County on Saturday, January 11 in Dingwall, Scotland.
Celtic took a 1-0 lead on Furuhashi's opening goal in the 40th minute when he rifled the ball past Ross County goalkeeper Jordan Amissah. Furuhashi added his second goal on an 81st-minute header as league-leading Celtic collected its 19th win in 22 matches.
The Japanese striker is tied for the Scottish Premiership lead in goals (10) this season. He's appeared in 21 matches.
After Saturday's match, Sky Sports commentator Chris Sutton praised Furuhashi's performance.
"He's such an intelligent footballer and in times in games when he plays as an out-and-out center forward he doesn't get enough touches but he's so clean and so aware," Sutton said, according to Sky Sports' match report on its website. "His movement is sensational."
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Author: Ed Odeven
Find Ed on JAPAN Forward's dedicated website, SportsLook. Follow his [Japan Sports Notebook] on Sundays, [Odds and Evens] during the week, and X (formerly Twitter) ＠ed_odeven.