Naoya Inoue to Defend Undisputed Title Against Ye Joon Kim on January 24
Naoya Inoue will defend his undisputed super bantamweight crown against Korean challenger Ye Joon Kim on Friday, January 24, at Ariake Arena in Tokyo. Inoue was originally set to face undefeated Australian contender Sam Goodman, but Goodman withdrew from the bout twice due to cuts sustained in sparring. Kim, who has a 2-0 record on Japanese soil, has stepped in on short notice to face the pound-for-pound boxing star.
Inoue (28-0, 25 KOs) has built a legendary career, achieving undisputed champion status in two weight classes. He first unified the bantamweight titles in December 2022 with a stoppage of Paul Butler. In July 2023, Inoue knocked out WBC/WBO champ Stephen Fulton, followed by a win over WBA/IBF king Marlon Tapales in December to claim undisputed glory at super bantamweight. Inoue continued his dominance with a comeback victory over Luis Nery in May 2024 and a TKO over TJ Doheny in September.
Kim (21-2-2, 13 KOs) has spent most of his career fighting in Korea. The former IBF Asia super bantamweight champion has won his last two bouts, including a WBO Oriental title win over Rakesh Lohchab last May. Kim is currently ranked No. 11 by the WBO.
The Inoue-Kim fight, along with 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.