Naoya Inoue is back in a boxing ring today as he meets Ye Joon Kim in the Japanese capital of Tokyo.
‘The Monster’ is preparing to defend his undisputed super-bantamweight world titles for the third time against a late replacement opponent.
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Inoue was originally supposed to battle Sam Goodman on Christmas Eve, only for the fight to be postponed after the challenger suffered a cut above his eye during sparring.
The bout was subsequently pushed back to January 24, only for a recurrence of that same injury to then lead to Goodman withdrawing again at two weeks’ notice.
Stepping up for one of the toughest tasks in boxing against an undefeated pound-for-pound great and one of the sport’s most devastating knockout artists is Kim, the South Korean fighter nicknamed ‘Troublemaker’ who has a 21-2-2 professional record.
The odds are firmly stacked (to say the least) against Kim, who has won his last two fights against Rakesh Lohchab and John Basan after losing a decision against Rob Diezel in America in April 2023 - his first defeat for more than a decade.
He faces the most formidable challenge against two-time undisputed champion Inoue, who stopped Irish southpaw TJ Doheny in somewhat anticlimactic fashion on his last outing back in September to retain his full set of titles in the 122lbs division for the second time, having previously bounced back from the shock first knockdown of his professional career to beat Luis Nery.
Inoue vs Kim date
Naoya Inoue vs Ye Joon Kim takes place today on Friday January 24, 2025 at the Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan.
Inoue vs Kim fight time
Friday’s undercard is expected to begin at around 8am GMT, which is 5pm local time. Main event ring walks are scheduled for approximately 10:45am GMT (7:45pm JST). As ever, those timings are approximate and subject to change.
Inoue vs Kim undercard
Japan’s WBO bantamweight champion Yoshiki Takei was due to headline the undercard against Yuttapong Tongdee of Thailand, only to suffer a shoulder injury in December that has ruled him out.
Jin Sasaki vs Shoki Sakai
Goki Kobayashi vs Yuni Takada
Toshiki Shimomachi vs Misaki Hirano
Tsubasa Narai vs Kai Watanabe
How to watch Inoue vs Kim
TV channel: In the UK, Inoue vs Kim is being shown live on Sky Sports+ from 7:30am GMT.
Live stream: Sky Sports subscribers can also catch the contest live online via the Sky Go app.
Live coverage: Follow all the action on Friday with Standard Sport’s live fight blog.
Inoue vs Kim prediction
You certainly don’t envy Kim, who will surely be among the very biggest underdogs of the year - or indeed any year - on Friday.
Facing a fearsome champion like Inoue is hard enough when you’ve had a long time to prepare, let alone having only got the call a couple of weeks earlier.
After the fight with Doheny ended in low-key fashion as the Irishman retired due to injury, ‘The Monster’ will no doubt be hunting one of his signature ferocious knockouts as he bids to offer another reminder of his awesome power.
Kim won’t be overawed and says Inoue has never faced someone like him before, but it would be among the biggest shocks in the sport’s history if he were to dethrone him here.
Rather, we expect the home favourite to produce a typically vicious demolition job within the first couple of rounds.
Inoue to win by emphatic early knockout.
Inoue vs Kim weights
The fighters took to the scales in Tokyo on Thursday and weighed almost exactly the same. Inoue was 121.8lbs, with Kim coming in a fraction lighter at 121.7lbs.
Inoue vs Kim odds
Inoue to win: 1/100
Kim to win: 22/1
Draw: 33/1
Inoue to win on points or by decision: 9/1
Inoue to win by knockout or technical knockout: 1/18
Kim to win on points or by decision: 70/1
Kim to win by knockout or technical knockout: 33/1
Odds via Betfair (subject to change).
