(No Limit Boxing)
Sam Goodman is again in line for a title shot at junior featherweight after winning an IBF title eliminator, taking a unanimous decision over Rodrigo Fabian Ruiz on Sunday in Wollongong, Australia. Their match was the co-feature to Tim Tszyu vs. Denis Nurja at the WIN Entertainment Centre.
The scores were 118-110, 116-112 and a surprisingly close 115-113.
But the fact that Goodman won so comfortably seemed in doubt in the second round, which saw a rapid momentum shift. About 75 seconds in, Goodman landed a three-punch combination that stopped Ruiz in his tracks for a moment. But just 20 seconds later, Ruiz scored with a big left hand – clearly his favorite shot – that staggered Goodman.
Goodman was steadied in the third round, though he had to deal with a frustrating and ever-dangerous presentation from his opponent. Ruiz not only would move in and out, but he also would switch between orthodox and southpaw stances, using each to set up left-handed power shots.
In the fourth, Goodman emphasized defense by moving away when Ruiz approached, or evading shots when he couldn’t otherwise get out of range. Goodman sought to further frustrate Ruiz at the start of the fifth by working behind his jab, peppering him in the face repeatedly.
Yet by the halfway point of the fifth, Goodman and Ruiz were forehead to forehead, both men exchanging solid blows. Goodman soon remembered that he had legs and started to evade again, though Ruiz was still able to land a few good shots.
Goodman was back on the stick at the start of the sixth, forcing Ruiz to try to duck down and bull forward to close the distance. Goodman also scored with a right-hand lead on two occasions. Again at the midway point, Goodman was in close range, seemingly by choice, and still dominating the action, landing often while smothering, blocking or dodging much of what Ruiz threw.
Not that Goodman had completely avoided damage. He was dealing with significant bruising around his right eye, though he was likely grateful that he spent almost all of this match without the bad cuts that had twice left him unable to fight undisputed junior featherweight champion Naoya Inoue in late 2024 and early 2025.
In the eighth round with Ruiz, Goodman scored with single shots: a right hand upstairs, then a left hook to the body. Ruiz did shovel a nice left hook of his own into Goodman’s midsection. And for a period when Goodman…
2026-04-05 04:47:40
