Sam Goodman has been forced to give up the fight - and payday - of a lifetime and faces the prospect of a lengthy stint out of the ring after reopening a cut above his eye.
The Australian boxer's world title dream is in tatters after he was forced to withdraw from his already rescheduled blockbuster fight with Naoya Inoue in Japan.
The Albion Park fighter picked up a cut at training four weeks ago, forcing his million-dollar world title Christmas Eve fight with Inoue to shift to January 24.
But the Sydney underdog reopened the wound in another innocuous incident on Saturday, forcing him to pull out of the fight for the undisputed super-bantamweight crown permanently.
Goodman requires plastic surgery to fix the issue and will need considerable recovery time out of the ring before he can face the music again.
Inoue's team moved quickly to announce a new opponent, South Korea's Ye Joon Kim (21-2-2, 13 KOs) stepping up on two weeks' notice for his shot.
The 26-year-old Goodman needed four stitches last month following a "freak accident" in a sparring session at a Sydney gym, and initially feared he would miss his chance to take on the unbeaten Inoue, one of the sport's most in-demand talents after his 25 stoppages in 28 bouts.
"We wish Sam a full and speedy recovery and will provide updates on the event in due course," said promoters No Limit Boxing.
Goodman, who is undefeated through 19 fights and boasts eight KOs, was gutted at the time of his initial injury.
“And I’m absolutely devastated to be doing this," he said, before the fight was rescheduled for January 24.
“I want to fight this guy. This has been a 14-week camp but this has been the last 15 years of my life, everything I’ve ever done to get into this position and to take this guy on.
“I just want the chance to have a crack against him for all those belts.
“And hopefully we can get it on sooner rather than later once this cut heals up.”
The 31-year-old Inoue, who holds the WBC, WBO, WBA (super) and IBF super-bantamweight belts, also owes a mandatory defence to Uzbekistan's Murodjon Akhmadaliev.
The superstar is regarded as one of the best pound-for-pound boxers in the world on the back of a 28-0 record, including 25 by knockout.
Goodman's latest setback could place him back in the queue.
