Inoue vs. Joon Kim

Naoya Inoue vs. Ye Joon Kim:
Inoue wins by KO in the 4th round.

Goki Kobayashi vs. Yuni Takada:
Takada wins by SD.

Jin Sasaki vs. Shoki Sakai:
Sasaki wins by UD.

Toshiki Shimomachi vs. Misaki Hirano:
Shimomachi wins by MD.

Tsubasa Narai vs. Kai Watanabe:
Narai wins by SD.

Naoya Inoue has a new opponent for his January 24 defense of the unified junior featherweight championship. South Korea's Ye Joon Kim steps in as a replacement after Australia’s Sam Goodman withdrew due to a recurring eye injury. The bout will still take place at the Ariake Arena in Tokyo, with Inoue’s four belts expected to be on the line.

Watch camp life of Naoya Inoue: Watch

Initially, the fight was set to occur in December but it was postponed as Sam Goodman received a cut over his eye at the last sparring session before the event, and now he won't even be able to fight on 24th of January.

Kim, 32, is ranked No. 11 by the WBO but has yet to establish himself as a serious threat at world level. His most recent notable result was an eight-round points loss to Rob Diezel in 2023, though he rebounded with a TKO win over Rakesh Lohchab this past May. Despite the short-notice booking, many view the matchup as a steep climb for Kim, given Inoue’s dominance.

Watch Inoue’s run at 122: Watch

In the co-main event, japanese welterweight prospect Jin Sasaki (18-1-1, 17 KOs) defends his WBO Asia Pacific and OPBF belts against Shoki Sakai (29-14-3, 15 KOs). Sasaki, 23, has won six straight bouts - his latest a seventh-round stoppage of Qamil Balla last September - and aims to keep his power-driven streak alive.

Sakai, 34, hopes to rebound from a split-decision loss to Ryota Toyoshima in May, a defeat that halted his three-fight winning run. Despite a gap in their records, Sakai’s experience could test the younger Sasaki, who has destroyed 17 foes inside the distance. At stake are Sasaki’s WBO Asia Pacific and OPBF welterweight straps, which he’s keen to retain against the tough veteran.

Other undercard bouts include a minimumweight title match between Goki Kobayashi (7-1, 5 KOs) and Yuni Takada (15-8-3, 6 KOs), plus Tsubasa Narai (14-2, 10 KOs) versus Kai Watanabe (13-1-1, 7 KOs) at lightweight and Toshiki Shimomachi (19-1-3, 12 KOs) versus Misaki Hirano (11-1, 4 KOs) in a super bantamweight 10-rounder.

With everything on the line, Joon Kim is focused on one thing - making history. Will he succeed?

Fight card:

▪️Naoya Inoue vs. Ye Joon Kim, 12 rounds, for the undisputed super bantamweight championship
▪️Jin Sasaki vs. Shoki Sakai, 12 rounds, for the Oriental and Pacific Boxing Federation welterweight title and the WBO Asia Pacific welterweight title
▪️Goki Kobayashi vs. Yuni Takada, 12 rounds, for the WBO Asia Pacific minimumweight title
▪️Tsubasa Narai vs. Kai Watanabe, 10 rounds, lightweight
▪️Toshiki Shimomachi vs. Misaki Hirano, 10 rounds, for the Japan Boxing Commission Japanese super bantamweight title

Watch the weigh-in here: Watch