Naoya Inoue faces Ye Joon Kim on January 24 live from Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan. The pair square off in the 12-round main event at super bantamweight.
31-year-old undefeated four-weight champion Inoue (28-0, 25 KOs) of Japan makes the third defense of his undisputed 122-pound title. 32-year-old Kim (21-2-2, 13 KOs) takes on the local star on short notice. The Korean challenger replaced Sam Goodman (19-0, 8 KOs) of Australia, who withdrew due to injury.
In the co-feature, Jin Sasaki (18-1-1, 17 KOs) meets his Japanese fellow Shoki Sakai (29-14-3, 15 KOs) at welterweight. The bout is scheduled for 12 rounds with Sasaki’s WBO Asia Pacific, and Oriental and Pacific Boxing Federation (OPBF) belts on the line.
Also on the card, Japan’s Goki Kobayashi (7-1, 5 KOs) defends his WBO Asia Pacific strap against Filipino-born Japanese Yuni Takada (15-8-3, 6 KOs). The matchup is scheduled for 10 rounds at minimumweight.
Among other Inoue vs Kim prelims, Tsubasa Narai (14-2, 10 KOs) and Kai Watanabe (13-1-1, 7 KOs) square off in an all-Japanese 10-round battle at lightweight. Plus, Toshiki Shimomachi (19-1-3, 12 KOs) and Misaki Hirano (11-1, 4 KOs) go toe-to-toe in an all-Japanese 10-round clash at super bantamweight.
Naoya Inoue vs Ye Joon Kim results
Get Naoya Inoue vs Ye Joon Kim full fight card results below.
- Naoya Inoue def. Ye Joon Kim by KO (R4)
- Jin Sasaki def. Shoki Sakai by unanimous decision
- Tsubasa Narai def. Kai Watanabe by split decision
- Toshiki Shimomachi def. Misaki Hirano by majority decision
- Yuni Takada def. Goki Kobayashi by split decision