It takes more than scripted barbs to rile Sam Goodman, but the Albion Park product has welcomed the smack talk of rival Jason Cooper ahead of their showdown in Newcastle on Saturday night.
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Widely regarded as one of the country's top world title hopes, Goodman has compiled a healthy 12-0 record as a pro, including victories over former world title challengers Richie Mepranum and Juan Miguel Elorde by stoppage.
He became one of just two men to stop Elorde in his most recent outing, joining current WBO super-bantamweight champion Emanuel Navarrete.
It saw the 23-year-old climb to No. 8 in the IBF rankings and No. 7 with the WBO, none of which was all that impressive to Cooper.
"I don't know why [rivals] don't want the fight, he's not dangerous at all," Cooper told Thursday's presser.
"He's a great boxer, I'll give him that, but the opponents he's fought were just there for paydays."
For his part, Goodman isn't all that enamoured with the Queenslander's own 17-3-1 resume, with 13 of those 17 wins coming against opponents with losing records. Still, given the somewhat vanilla build-up to recent fights against international opponents, Goodman welcomed the banter.
"It was good to have some back and forth," Goodman said.
"I enjoyed it, I wish it went a bit longer and I got a bit more out of him. I've been looking for a bit of niggle [previously] but it's no good trying to spark something out of nothing.
"It makes for a better fight. Most fighters have to try and sound like they're backing themselves but I know he doesn't really want the fight. I know I'm going to do a job on him.
"He can say one thing, I know he thinks another. He can talk all that rubbish but wants it hits Saturday night there's another thing coming to him. He doesn't know the level [I'm at].
"I'm going to take it all in my stride and lap it up. I know this ride doesn't last forever so you check yourself sometimes and remember that. I'm just enjoying the whole journey as much as I'm going to enjoy the destination."
The planned destination is a world title shot, something he's drawing closer to as he looks to defend his WBO Oriental super-bantamweight title against Cooper on Saturday, the pair both comfortably making weight on Friday.
It would be the third defence of the WBO strap that promises to push him further into the world title picture.
"[Promoter] No Limit said they'd get me active and deliver those regional title fights when I first signed with them and they've done everything they've said [they'd do], with hopefully more on the horizon," Goodman said.
"The activity and winning those regional titles, and defending them, it's obviously boosted my ranking. It's great, but I'm not looking at it too much or getting carried away with the rankings.
"I still know there's a lot of work to be done and a lot of fighters to beat, including this weekend. I've just got to keep on that trajectory and everything else will take care of itself. Sooner or later I'll be in that world title picture.
"We're fast-tracking it a little bit and within a year, year and a bit, I'll be right in that mix. It has happened pretty quickly, this year's flown by and from where I started the year to where I am now is [a] massive [jump]."
His last-out stoppage win over Elorde - the grandson of Filipino legend Gabriel 'Flash' Elorde - in August was arguably his best showing as a professional but, as usual, one the man himself found fault in.
"I thought I did a job and executed my game plan pretty well," he said.
"There's still mistakes I made in that fight that I can fix up and there's still plenty to improve on and work towards. That's what we've done this camp, worked on little things and becoming a better fighter and more complete."
One thing's for certain, with the 'Super Saturday' card featuring a massive 20 bouts, Goodman's famous 'Mad Bunch' supporter crew will be well-watered by the time he makes his ring walk.
"A lot of them will be there early because we've got one of our [Complete Boxing Gosford] guys on, Jason Fawcett, earlier in the day," Goodman said.
"There'll be a few rolling in then so it'll be a long day, they're going to strap themselves in. There's no point me saying 'pace yourselves' because they never do.
"They've only got one gear but they'll get through it. They've had plenty of big nights and they know how to enjoy themselves."
There'll be a distinct Wollongong flavour to the card, with Mark Lucas taking on Jayde Mitchell in the headline bout of the prelim card, while Ashleigh Sims will take on Canberran Sarah Watt at a 54-kilo catchweight and Tywarna Campbell will defend her Australian super-featherweight title against three-time foe Jessica Adams.
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Mitch Jennings
Sports writer. Sport is my passion, rugby league my first love.
Sports writer. Sport is my passion, rugby league my first love.
