Sam Goodman cruised past Mexico’s Cesar Vaca to resume his charge towards a world title shot, putting a difficult period behind him in the process.
The 26-year-old Aussie remained undefeated with a unanimous-decision victory (99-92, 99-91, 100-90) over Vaca at Sydney’s Hordern Pavilion.
In his first outing since a cut above his left eye nixed a fight with Naoya Inoue for the undisputed titles, Goodman looked comfortable through the opening five rounds, settling into a rhythm and out-working Vaca who was happy to fight on the back foot and look for counters.
MORE: Why Harry Garside rejected undercard fighter’s $100,000 challenge
Sensing he was well down on the cards, Vaca stepped things up in the eighth round but Goodman had the answers, although a head clash late in the ninth split him above his right eye, no doubt making for some nervous moments in the corner.
While the fight didn’t reach any great heights for action, Goodman, now 20-0, will be pleased to put the last six months behind him and get through with his troublesome eyebrow intact.
After the fight, an emotional Goodman reflected on the relief of victory.
"I tried to get through it without any cuts, but it's not my style this year," Goodman said.
"The last six months of my life has been wild.
"But my team, I wouldn't have got through it without you.
"A lot of work, a lot of support. It was tough, but I've got all them behind me.
"I don't know what's next, a couple of stitches, but I'll be back in the gym and then we'll go."
In the chief support, Harry Garside improved to 4-0 after a three-year absence from the professional boxing ring, having returned to the amateurs ahead of the Paris Olympics.
Garside’s opponent, Queensland’s Charlie Bell, was plenty game but outclassed from the outset.
A cut above Garside’s eye caused by a head clash didn’t seem to bother him too much as repeatedly scored with sharp shots at range before slipping away from Bell’s counters.
In the end, the bout was waved off before the sixth and final round.
Earlier, Stevan Ivic retained the Australian heavyweight title with a thrilling unanimous-decision victory (96-93x2, 96-94) over Toese Vousiutu.
In a fight of the year contender, Ivic looked to have done enough to get his man out of there in the sixth before Vousiutu rallied and dominated the next two rounds, with both fighters throwing and landing bombs right to the final bell.
Catch up on all the results below:
Full card results from Sam Goodman vs. Cesar Vaca
- Sam Goodman def. Cesar Vaca Espinoza via UD10 (99-92, 99-91, 100-90)
- Harry Garside def. Charlie Bell via TKO5
- Stevan Ivic def. Toese Vousiutu via UD10 (96-93x2, 96-94) for the Australian heavyweight title
- Mounir Fathi def. Wade Ryan via KO3
- Charlie Kazzi def. Patrick Vella via UD8 (79-73 x2, 77-75)
- Jason Fawcett def. Alex Lual via MD6 (59-55, 58-56, 57-57)
- Jasmine Parr def. Jittamat Phomta via TKO1
- Dharringarra Trewhella def. Kaliova Tahikia via TKO3
- Salvatore Gattuso def. Nikesh Prasad via KO1
- Tyrell Adams def. Roy Gavera via UD4 (40-36 x3)
Goodman vs. Vaca start time
The action goes down on Wednesday, May 14.
The first fight of the evening is due to begin at 5pm AEST, before the broadcast kicks off at 5:30pm.
From 7pm, the broadcast will switch to pay-per-view, with Goodman and Vaca due in the ring some time around 10pm, depending on the length of the earlier fights.
How to watch Goodman vs. Vaca: TV channel, live stream
Fans wishing to watch the prelim action can tune into Fox Sports 5 (Ch. 505) from 5:30pm AEST, while the pay-per-view, which can be purchased for $49.95, begins on Main Event at 7pm.
For the live stream, Kayo has you covered for the prelims, while fans can also purchase the PPV through the platform.
Click here to purchase Goodman vs. Vaca on Kayo PPV