Sam Goodman refuses to sit on the shelf and wait for his crack at Japanese icon Naoya Inoue's undisputed super-bantamweight crown, with the Albion Park product set to headline his second Wollongong pay-per-view in July.
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It will be a return to the scene of his fourth-round TKO victory over Victorian Mark Schleibs in March, while former NRL bad-boy Curtis Scott will also back up at the WEC for a showdown with AFL legend Barry Hall.
Scott called out the Hall-of-Famer moments after his second-round stoppage of former on-field NRL rival Joey Leilua, with the heavyweight clash to co-headline with Goodman's bout against 25-0 Thai Chainoi Worawut.
The July 10 bout is a surprise announcement less than a month after Inoue called Goodman into the ring in front of 54,000 fans at the Tokyo Dome to ceremoniously open negotiations for a fight with the Aussie No. 1 contender.
Goodman's promotors No Limit Boxing had slated a potential September meeting with the pound-for-pound great, but the odds now point to a December bout, the month in which the legendary Japanese has habitually staged marquee year-end events.
Goodman will risk his shot at the title - and the biggest pay-day on offer in the lighter weight classes - to stay busy with his second home-town PPV in the space of four months.
Scott added Nepote Dawadawa's scalp to his resume a fortnight ago in preparation for his meeting with Hall, whose last trip to the ring saw him KO'd inside the opening round by Sonny Bill Williams in March, 2022.
Prior to that, Hall fought then 9-0 Paul Gallen to a draw in 2019, with Gallen subsequently going on to sensationally knock out former WBA interim heavyweight champion Lucas Browne at the WEC in 2021.
The card will also see hard-hitting Queenslander Liam Wilson venture up to lightweight after falling short of three and two-division world champions Emanuel Navarrete and Oscar Valdez in two tilts at world super-featherweight gold.
He'll take on 21-1 rising lightweight Youseff 'Uwee' Dib, brother of former world champion Billy Dib, with the winner perhaps eyeing an all-Australian showdown with former unified lightweight world champion George Kambosos.
Other highlights on the main card include Novocastrian sledgehammer Brandon Grach, who produced the KO of the year on fellow heavy-hitter Liam Talivaa (who will feature on the prelim card) in November last year.
He'll take on 6-0 John Maila, while the show will also be a first outing under the No Limit banner for English-born Australian Commonwealth Games rep Billy Polkinghorn.
More to come
Mitch Jennings
Sports writer. Sport is my passion, rugby league my first love.
Sports writer. Sport is my passion, rugby league my first love.
