Latest news with #SamGoodman
News.com.au
08-06-2025
- Sport
- News.com.au
Aussie boxer Sam Goodman lands shock featherweight world title fight against Nick Ball
Sam Goodman has landed a shock world title fight, with the Aussie boxer set to move up to featherweight to challenge WBA champion Nick Ball in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on August 16. The fight will be the co-main event to English heavyweight sensation Moses Itauma's step-up fight against veteran Dillian Whyte. Goodman had been chasing super-bantamweight kingpin Naoya Inoue for two years, but jumped at the opportunity to face Ball instead in a move that will disrupt Inoue's own fight plans. Nicknamed 'The Monster', Inoue is lined up to defend his super-bantamweight crown against Murodjon Akhmadaliev in September in Japan. He was expected to then make a move to featherweight to challenge Ball later in the year. Goodman's team instead opted to move up and fight Ball first, and will look at facing Inoue at featherweight instead. 'The Monster won't fight us, so we will take his December opponent out and then he has to fight us,' Goodman's manager, Peter Mitrevski told Code Sports. 'We aren't afraid of monsters. 'He doesn't want to fight us, so we'll move up to featherweight and take on the featherweight monster.' Ball and Goodman have indirect history too. The Englishman's main training partner, Brad Strand, was the man who cut Goodman in sparring just 10 days out from his first scheduled bout with Inoue last December. The unbeaten Aussie twice missed out on a whopping seven-figure payday to fight Inoue, after the cut opened up again in sparring a month later. The double setbacks left Goodman so broke that he admitted to having to steal dog food from Coles before his comeback win over Cesar Vaca last month. The 22-0-1 Ball is stocky and explosive, and won the WBA title in June last year. He has defended it twice, most recently against Irish-Aussie veteran TJ Doheny, who Goodman beat by decision in 2023. Ball's win over Doheny nearly descended into chaos when the Englishman kicked the challenger in the back of the legs in the final seconds of a testy first round in Liverpool. Goodman's surprise featherweight world title fight was made official this weekend, and caps off a remarkable run for Aussie boxers on the world stage, with Tim Tszyu, Justis Huni, Jai Opetaia and George Kambosos all in world title fights over the next 10 weeks.
Daily Mail
15-05-2025
- Sport
- Daily Mail
Top Aussie boxer reveals why he stole a VERY common item from Coles
Luckless Australian boxer Sam Goodman might have hit the jackpot after reviving his flagging fortunes with a unanimous points win over Mexican Cesar Vaca in Sydney. Goodman improved his unbeaten record to 20-0 with a dominant performance at the Hordern Pavilion on Wednesday night that could propel the 26-year-old into a blockbuster world title shot in the US. But after the fight, Goodman opened up on the hardships he has faced in the past few months, revealing that he had once resorted to missing out on stealing dog food from Coles. The 26-year-old fighter had closed on a house situated on the Central Coast prior to his scheduled fight with Naoya Inoue on Christmas Eve in Japan. However, the Aussie fighter suffered a cut to his eye following an accident in training and was forced to withdraw from the bout, which had been rescheduled for January 24. He required four stitches but was forced to pull out of the second bout, after the cut reopened with the fight being cruelly snatched away from him. Goodman was due to make over one million dollars following the fight. But the devastated fighter spiralled into financial peril after being forced to pull out. 'I've had to steal dog food from Coles, so there's a headline for ya! My dog wasn't eating if I didn't,' he told Code Sports following the bout. 'Mate, I was flat out f***ing broke. I mean not a dollar. 'Home loans coming out my a***, snipping everyone I know, borrowing money off this person, off that person. 'Mate, it has been f***ing hell. I've had to rely on some people around me to help get me through this and, mate, if I didn't have 'em, I'd be f***ed.' Goodman's team will now petition for the world's top-ranked IBF super-bantamweight fighter to be the mandatory challenger to face superstar Inoue. He might even wind up on the same card as his No Limit stablemate Tim Tszyu's showstopper rematch with Sebastian Fundora in Las Vegas in July or August. 'I want the shot at Inoue, I want my chance,' he added. 'I'm not saying he's dodging or anything like that. 'What happened to me, it was s***, it was terrible.' Some had accused him of ducking out of the fight himself. But he pointed to how he had been left crippled financially, following the decision to pull out. 'People are saying I'm ducking and dodging, but mate, that has financially f***ed me,' he added. 'It crippled me for six months of my life. 'Honestly, the stress that has been put on me and my family, it's massive.' The boxer, who hails from Albion Park, New South Wales, faced losing the million-dollar home he bought late last year if he'd lost on Wednesday night. He finished the high-stakes encounter with cuts around both eyes and was left suitably relieved to have survived without sustaining any more serious damage. 'It was a punch that got me with this one and then, f***, it was a beauty of a head butt that got me over here,' Goodman said after being awarded the contest 99-92, 99-91, 100-90 by the three judges. 'So the next two rounds were about managing to get through it and winning the fight. 'It was all about being smart the whole fight and getting that momentum back on the road to world titles.'
News.com.au
14-05-2025
- Sport
- News.com.au
Sam Goodman v Cesar Veca: Live updates, results and how to watch
The Sam Goodman comeback card has been rocked with a fight day pull out, leaving rising Sydney star Ahmad Reda without an opponent for tonight's event at the Hordern Pavilion. The popular Reda was due to fight Newcastle's Patrick Lilly on the undercard, but Lilly pulled out of the bout late on Tuesday night after a disagreement over weight. Initially the bout was scheduled to take place at 60.5kg, but Reda's team informed event promoters No Limit that he wouldn't be able to get that low on short notice. Goodman vs Vaca | WED 14 MAY 7PM AEST | Australia's undefeated Sam Goodman makes his long awaited return to the ring where he faces Mexico's Cesar Vaca in Sydney | Order Now with Main Event on Kayo Sports > After missing weight by 1.2kg on Tuesday afternoon, Reda and Lilly's team agreed to fight at 61kg instead, with Reda to forfeit 30 per cent of his purse. In dramatic scenes, Reda used a sauna at the Sydney Football Stadium for two hours and eventually tipped the scales at 60.89kg. 'That was the best he could do,' Reda's manager, Pete Mitrevski said. 'We shook hands with the coach on 61kg, and he went to the Football Stadium and sat in a sauna for two hours. 'He came back looking like a jockey, but he made the weight. 'Then we found out at 10pm last night that they've gone back up to Newcastle.' As of Wednesday morning, No Limit was still searching for a replacement opponent for Reda to keep him on the card. A win over Lilly would have seen the 22-year-old lock in an Australian lightweight title fight with dangerous Brisbane-based boxer Billy Polkinghorn. The winner of that fight would have likely fought Harry Garside, who makes his professional boxing comeback tonight. The fight is a pay-per-view and can be bought on Main Event of Kayo Sports here. What time are Harry Garside and Sam Goodman fighting? Expect Harry Garside to step into the ring against Charlie Bell at around 9pm. Goodman will fight Vaca any time from 9:30 to 10pm.
Japan Times
17-04-2025
- Business
- Japan Times
U.K. raises alarm on Chinese drones used to survey sensitive sites
U.K. government officials have raised private concerns that Chinese-manufactured drones are being used to take high resolution images of critical national infrastructure sites in the U.K., going against guidance from the country's security services. National Grid PLC, which operates the nation's electricity and gas networks, uses drones made by Shenzhen-based SZ DJI Technology to take videos, photographs and thermal images of its electricity substations, according to information posted on its website as recently as September. DJI drones have also been used to survey the construction of Electricite de France SA's Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant, to inspect solar farms, and by Thames Water to monitor reservoirs and the water supply. Deployment of the drones comes despite a warning in 2023 by the U.K.'s National Protective Security Authority (NPSA), part of the domestic security service MI5, that British organizations managing sensitive sites should be wary of using drones "manufactured in countries with coercive data sharing practices,' a reference to China. Moreover, in 2022, the U.S. Department of Defense included DJI on a blacklist of Chinese firms with military ties. National Grid said it follows government guidance, while Thames Water said it takes security "seriously.' DJI and EDF didn't respond to requests for comment. "It is reasonable to be concerned around the alleged widespread use of Chinese drones to map and track the performance of critical U.K. national infrastructure,' said Sam Goodman, senior director of policy at the China Strategic Risks Institute in London. "At the very least, without British companies undertaking modification of these drones, including software patches, this could pose a significant data security and national security risk to the U.K., as DJI is legally required to provide data and cooperation with China's Ministry of State Security under the PRC's National Intelligence Law.' The role of Chinese companies and equipment in critical national infrastructure has been in focus in the U.K. after the government this weekend took control of British Steel from its Chinese owner, Jingye Group, to prevent it from closing blast furnaces at the country's last virgin steelmaking site. One British official said the drones issue is challenging as the government tries to balance its public pursuit of closer economic ties with Beijing with its private frustrations that companies working in sensitive areas are not taking seriously the potential security threat posed by China. Prime Minister Keir Starmer is pursuing closer economic ties with China, even amid those security concerns and President Donald Trump's trade war with the Asian nation. Last year, Bloomberg reported that British officials were concerned Chinese state actors had made widespread — and likely successful — efforts to access British critical infrastructure networks, underscoring fears of vulnerabilities to increasingly sophisticated efforts by foreign powers to compromise security. The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation has warned that Chinese-made drones "pose a significant risk to critical infrastructure' as they "could have vulnerabilities that enable data theft or facilitate network compromises.' Meanwhile, the U.K.'S NPSA's advice to British companies states: "the first line of defense for organizations wishing to use unmanned aerial systems (UAS) may be to restrict UAS and associated component procurement from countries which pose a risk to security.' Using Chinese-made drones at key sites in Britain poses a risk because Chinese national security laws can compel its companies to share data with the state, according to a U.K. government official who requested anonymity discussing a sensitive issue. Despite those warnings, Chinese-made products appear to be the go-to drone technology for companies in charge of much of Britain's critical infrastructure. That's in part because DJI is the world's largest maker of commercial drones, leaving firms with limited choice when it comes to procuring low-cost unmanned aerial systems. The revelation about DJI comes after Bloomberg reported last year that drones used by a second Chinese manufacturer, Autel Robotics had been used by the U.K. military and police, despite the firm being sanctioned by the British government for arming Russia in its war against Ukraine. The National Grid's website says it uses DJI's Mavic2 drone in its substations, as well as to create models to help plan its "great grid upgrade,' a major program to improve U.K. grid connections. They also use DJI's M350, M300 RTK and Mini 3 Pro drones. A National Grid spokesperson said it has "security measures in place across all our operations which follow the guidance set out by government and the security agencies.' DJI drones were able to capture "incredibly valuable, accurate data' at the Hinkley Point nuclear power plant, according to Skymatics, a surveying company which ran the project at the site. The site is part-owned by China General Nuclear Power Group. Representatives for EDF did and Skymatics did not respond to requests for comment. The U.K. government also declined to comment on security matters, while stating that "our energy sector is subject to the highest levels of scrutiny and protection.' A Thames Water spokesperson said that "as providers of critical national infrastructure, we take the security of our networks and systems very seriously and are focused on protecting them.' While the dangers of data leaks from drone technology can be mitigated by using an "off-line mode' disconnected from internet networks, security risks remain, and the best course of action is to "prevent high risk vendors from progressing through the procurement process,' according to the NPSA guidance.
