Naoya Inoue will now defend his undisputed world super bantamweight championship against Korean challenger Ye Joon Kim on Friday, January 24th at Ariake Arena in Tokyo. Inoue was scheduled to face undefeated Australian Sam Goodman, who withdrew from the bout twice due to cuts sustained in sparring. Kim, who is 2-0 on Japanese soil, stepped in on short notice to face the pound-for-pound stalwart. Inoue-Kim and the welterweight co-feature between Jin Sasaki and Shoki Sakai will stream live and exclusively in the U.S. on ESPN+ starting at 4:15 a.m. ET/1:15 a.m. PT.

 

Inoue (28-0, 25 KOs) began his four-belt legacy in December 2022 when he stopped Paul Butler to unify all the bantamweight titles. Then, within a little over a year, the 31-year-old knocked out WBC/WBO champ Stephen Fulton in July 2023 and WBA/IBF king Marlon Tapales that December to achieve undisputed glory in a second weight class. He made history again last May by headlining the first boxing card at the Tokyo Dome since the historic Mike Tyson-Buster Douglas showdown, overcoming a first-round knockdown before icing former two-division world champion Luis Nery in six. In September, he registered a seventh-round TKO over one-time junior featherweight king TJ Doheny.

 

Kim (21-2-2, 13 KOs) turned pro in 2012 and has spent most of his career fighting in Korea. He has won two straight since a majority decision defeat to veteran Rob Diezel in Auburn, Washington. Kim picked up a win last May in Bangkok, knocking out Rakesh Lohchab in the fifth round.