PROFESSIONAL boxing is the toughest of schools, but rising super-bantamweight Sam Goodman still ensures his most important lessons are learned in the gym.
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Now 4-0 as a pro, the Albion Park product will make his television debut at Luna Park on July 27 on a stacked card headlined by London Olympian Jai Opetaia and broadcast on Fox Sports.
The bout against a yet to be determined opponent will be another step up in a professional career he's made light work of to this point, largely untroubled in his first four outings.
It's something he attributes to a meticulous preparation in fight camps that have seen him share the ring with former WBO featherweight title contender Luke Jackson and former IBF super-bantamweight champion TJ Doheny.
He's spent time in his current camp sparring 10-0 featherweight Jai Alexander as he looks to fast-track his pro education.
"Your sparring is where you should be learning most of your lessons," Goodman says.
"You learn in fights as well but you don't want to learn too many lessons in the ring because might be too late. You want to have your hard rounds, know what you're doing well, know what you need to work on, before you get in there.
"I've spent time this camp sparring Jai Alexander, he's undefeated, I did some sparring with Luke Jackson again in my last camp. We're slowly learning as we go, getting better with things and making those subtle little changes you need to make to improve.
"It's all a learning process and we'll forever be doing that because you never stop learning in this sport, you're always in that grind. You've just got to be ready all the time. If you stay ready it puts you in good stead."
It certainly hasn't meant dispensing with his traits as an amateur, with the world-championship bronze medalists still drawing heavily on his pedigree.
"At the start of your pro career you're still relying heavily on your amateur background because you don't know a lot about the guys you're fighting," he said.
"I think I've been well adjusted to fight as a pro. I've always had a bit of a pro style and I'e been able to put on a high pace as a pro.
"I've always sparred good pros from a young age so a lot of it's been about continuing to fight how I was in the amateurs but maintaining it for longer periods.
"We're smashing it out this camp and everything's going great."
Opetaia (16-0) will defend his swag of regional cruiserweight world titles against Nik Charalampous (18-2) in the main attraction, but Goodman will be looking to turn the most heads during the prelims.
"It's on Fox Sports and it's pretty big card so it'll be good to get on TV and get myself out to a different audience," Goodman said.
"The exposure's massive and, at the end of the day, if you're not selling tickets promoters aren't putting you on their shows.
"You've got to get out there and broaden your audience so I'm really excited to get in front of a different crowd. I can't wait."