Back for Goodman: Can Sam Goodman deliver take-that to critics with Nick Ball triumph?

Few fighters get the chance to face off with the best. Fewer still get a second bite when the first doesn't pan out before they even step into the ring to do business.

Even with an undefeated twenty-fight record that has seen him climb the ranks to the summit of Australian boxing, Sam Goodman must live with sliding doors for now.

'The Ghost' was primed for the biggest fight of his life last December, against Naoya Inoue for the undisputed super bantamweight crown on Christmas Eve in Tokyo.

It would have been a watershed moment for the sport back home, the chance to become the first men's four-belt champion from the Southern hemisphere.

Instead, a cut to his eye in training robbed him of his initial date - and even after Inoue's team agreed to reschedule the following month, it would not come to pass.

A recurrence of the problem proved a bridge too far for 'The Monster' - and that was that for the WBO and IBF's mandatory challenger, left out in the January cold.

Not that it would have been too chilly for Goodman, born in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, a man who cut his teeth in rugby league and then on canvas.

They make them tough down there in the heartland of the NRL, boys and girls built with steel from Steedens and an appetite to win, no matter the cost to the body.

Goodman took further damage to the face again when he returned in May, scoring a comfortable points victory over Cesar Vaca to extend his 20-0 (8 KOs) record.

Now, on August 16, he will finally have his shot at a world title, when he challenges Nick Ball for the WBA featherweight strap in Riyadh, live on DAZN Pay-Per-View.

It might not be the four-belt crown Inoue has turned into one of the sport's most prized targets, nor will it come at the familiar weight of the super bantamweight class.

But those who think Ball will walk towards a third successful defence are sorely underestimating a man whose calibre and credentials suggest he can go all the way.

Only four years ago, with less than ten fights on the clock as a professional, Goodman swept up the domestic featherweight crown back home against Nort Beauchamp.

The result catapulted him to the summit of domestic fighters, albeit still with some way to go before his profile could flourish beyond local borders, even on a state level.

Fast-forward to the past year, Goodman is now a man known to the boxing world at large - but still, perhaps unfairly, as the man who twice failed to dance with Inoue.

There clearly is a spark lit beneath the Albion Park man. Before he defeated Vaca, he was already plotting just how he could fight his way back for a third dream attempt.

Now however, he has a new fish to fry, and at his old weight too. You would expect the cut to be less demanding at a higher weight, less stress placed onto his body.

It may have been some years since he fought there, but Goodman built his name on a grassroots level through his featherweight actions, proving he had that mettle.

He will need it. Ball has beaten some top operators in the last year, truly cemented himself at the featherweight level. He has spoken of his own plans to face Inoue.

In a sense then, this is more than just a world title chance for Goodman. It is a shoot-out in the desert between him and his Merseyside foe, where the fastest draw wins.

Victory not only would confirm his status as one of the pre-eminent boxers of his generation to hail from down under - it would put his name back into a familiar orbit too.

After two missed chances, the critics descended for Goodman. Pull off a triumph in Saudi Arabia, and it is an emphatic take-that; a sign that he is back at the top for good.

Watch Itauma vs Whyte live on DAZN

You can watch Moses Itauma vs Dillian Whyte live on DAZN on August 16. More information is available here .