Boxing news: Sam Goodman slaps Mark Schleibs in wild press conference ahead of blockbuster fight

Sam Goodman has called Mark Schleibs ‘the most deluded idiot in Australian boxing’ after slapping his rival in the face during a spicy press conference ahead of their blockbuster fight.

Sam Goodman labelled Mark Schleibs “the most deluded idiot in Australian boxing” after slapping the ‘Magic Man’ in the face during a spicy face-off at their wild press conference in Wollongong.

Goodman and Schleibs will meet in a pay-per-view blockbuster at WIN Entertainment Centre on March 13, but they nearly got into it in the car park before the press conference had even started.

The hatred between them is so deep that they exchanged vicious sledges after arriving at Tuesday’s presser at the same time.

They continued their back-end-forth on stage, with wild accusations and insults slung back-end-forth.

Sam Goodman (left) and Mark Schleibs (right) had a heated face-off in a wild press conference. Picture: No Limit Boxing

It’s easily the most animated the normally laid-back Goodman has ever looked, and the 17-0 super-bantamweight nearly let his emotions get the better of him when he dropped his championship belts and sent a right-handed slap at Schleibs during their face-off.

“He’s fake and he’s been carrying on, saying I’m not going to do anything, and he thought I wouldn’t do anything in the face-off, so I clipped him one,” Goodman told this masthead afterwards. “That was nothing though, on fight night, I’m really going after him.

“He’s just a clown.”

One of the most confident and outspoken fighters in Australian boxing, Schleibs was dragged off stage by No Limit media man Tim Ashworth.

He said it would’ve been on without Ashworth’s intervention.

“It was light, I thought a bee had stung me,” Scheibs told this masthead of the slap. “He got away with a very lucky slap.

“He’s lucky I didn’t get him back right there, because I would’ve knocked him the f**k out.”

An exasperated Goodman laughed off that claim.

Goodman slaps Schlieb after the pair clashed in a heated exchange. Picture: No Limit Boxing

“Mate, he had ample opportunity to do it – they faced us off again after the slap!” Goodman said. “He’s a clown. This ain’t fake, I’m not here for the cameras to sell tickets. I do that with my boxing, and when he starts rubbishing my family name, I can’t have respect for him as a guy.”

Goodman explained their carpark set-to, saying the Melbourne-based Schleibs tried to act like his mate.

“He carries himself a certain way, he’s fake,” he said. “He tried to say hello and make small talk, asking how my day was.

“But he’s already been rubbishing me on social media, so I just told him where to go.

“Don’t carry yourself one way when there’s a camera in front of your face, then expect me to talk to you and be your mate.”

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The 13-2 Schleibs says the hatred between them stems from Goodman’s “insecurities.”

“He’s speaking out of his ass because he’s insecure with what he’s done in the sport,” he said. “I just bring it to life and remind him that he’s not that good.

“When I bring it up, it frustrates him. Show me one highlight reel that Sam has … I’ll wait, cuz. I’ll wait.”

Goodman and Schleibs will meet in a pay-per-view blockbuster at WIN Entertainment Centre on March 13. Picture: No Limit Boxing

Goodman, who will finally achieve his dream of headlining a major card in front of his hometown fans on March 13, has been knocking on the door of a super-bantamweight world title fight for the past 12 months.

But Schleibs, who bounced back from consecutive losses to Brock Jarvis and Rocky Ogden with a stunning knockout of Shamal Raj Anuj in November, says Goodman’s most recent performances have been underwhelming.

“He hasn’t got that world title shot because he hasn’t done the job on the guys he was supposed to,” he said. “If he got a couple of stoppages in a row, maybe. But he hasn’t.

“That last guy made it hard for him, and now he has to relive that moment in his head. I’m a different animal, and he’s going to a different universe when I knock him out.”

Former NRL stars Joey Leilua (left) and Curtis Scott (right) will meet in a heavyweight showdown.

The rest of the fighters on stage were left watching on in a mixture of laughter and disbelief as Goodman and Schleibs’ insults stole the show.

In the co-main event, Issac Hardman promised to give Venezuelan knockout artist, and former Olympian, Endry Saavedra the, “Uno, dos, adios” as he continues his path up the middleweight rankings.

Meanwhile, former NRL stars Joey Leilua and Curtis Scott will meet in a heavyweight showdown between two footy exiles.

Leilua will be looking to get revenge after going 0-6 against Scott’s Storm side in their six meetings.

Originally published as Boxing news: Sam Goodman slaps Mark Schleibs in wild press conference ahead of blockbuster fight