IBF, WBC and WBO super bantamweight champion Naoya ‘Monster’ Inoue will defend against alternate opponent Ye Joon Kim (21-2-2, 13 KOs) in place of injured mandatory Sam Goodman on January 24 at Ariake Arena, Koto-Ku in Tokyo, Japan.
Inoue’s management found 32-year-old South Korean Ye Joon Kim and put him in as Naoya’s replacement to defend his three belts in 13 days on January 24. Goodman (19-0, 8 KOs) pulled out of his fight against Inoue due to a recurrence of an eye injury. Inoue is expected to reschedule against Goodman at a later date in 2025.
Rocky Story?
One issue among fans, aside from never having heard of Kim before, is how he can be allowed to challenge for Inoue’s three world super bantamweight titles when he is not ranked in the top 15 of any of the four disciplines impose sanctions. Other than that, Yoon Kim is just as good a choice as Naoya’s unpopular original choice, Sam Goodman.
Inoue’s team has made one ‘Rocky’- type selection, picking an unranked fighter few people have ever heard of and putting him in the spotlight to challenge for three world titles. It would be more enjoyable if this was a non-world title match with none of Inoue’s belts on the line. Team ‘Monster’ Inoue chose one ham & egg as his replacement. This is great for Kim and Naoya, but miserable for the fans.
Allowing a non-contender to fight for three world titles is distasteful and completely unfair to the fans and the top 15 contenders who were waiting for a world title shot against the Japanese star.
Boxing fans weren’t interested in seeing Inoue defend against Goodman (19-0, 8 KOs), seeing it as a typical mismatch for the Japanese star. Aussie Goodman is a finesse fighter with no power and would be fodder for Naoya.
However, Goodman looks like a real talent compared to his replacement opponent, Ye Joon Kim, who lost two years ago to journeyman Sam Diezel (15-10, 4 KOS0 by eight-round majority decision on April 15, 2023.
YJoon Kim’s last six opponents:
Rackets Lochsamp
John Bashan
Sam Diesel
Ruben Montoya Ramirez
Ryo Kosaka
Anocha Phuangkaew
These records of these fighters are simply awful, filled with losses from dark fighters. Then again, how is Naoya Inoue actually allowed to defend against Ye Joon Kim instead of a credible contender?
2025-01-11 15:23:00
