Unified super bantamweight champion Naoya Inoue (28-0, 25 KOs) weighed in at 121.8 pounds, while his replacement Challenger Ye Joon Kim (21-2-2, 13 KOs) weighed in at 121.7 pounds for their head. is showing this Friday, January 24. at the Ariake Arena, Koto-Ku, in Tokyo, Japan.
Dark weighing
The weigh-in had the feel of a funeral, as no one was smiling, with fighters with grim expressions on their faces. Inoue was scheduled to defend against Sam Goodman, but he suffered an injury in camp and had to be replaced by Kim.
For fans outside of Australia, Kim and Goodman are interchangeable. No difference. Both are lightweight punchers and no threat to beat Inoue, and they are not popular fighters. It’s good that a replacement opponent could be found so quickly. It’s a shame that a better opponent could have been dug up to make the match interesting.
Who is Kim?
Not much is known about Kim as he fought lesser opposition throughout his 13-year professional career. He did nothing to get a title shot, even as a replacement opponent.
It’s strange how Team Inoue selected him over someone fans have heard about who could potentially give Naoya a run for his money. This may not be what they would have wanted because it would have been risky for Inoue to fight someone with two weeks of preparation for his style.
Friday’s Inoue-Kim event will air on ESPN+ at 4:15 a.m. ET/1:15 a.m. PT. Die-hard boxing fans in the United States will probably get up just as early to watch the event, but that’s it.
Inoue, 31, hasn’t had anyone boxing fans have been excited to see since his match against Stephen Fulton in 2023. That fight made a lot of people in the United States excited to see him. Since then, Naoya has beaten these fighters:
–T.J. Doheny
– Luis Néry
–Marlon Tapales
