Naoya Inoue stopped late-replacement Ye Joon Kim in round four to retain the Undisputed Super Bantamweight title at The Ariake Arena in Tokyo.
In round four, Inoue hurt Kim with a hard right hand. Kim begged Inoue to come on. He got what he asked for and more as Inoue Landed a big right to the body that put Kim down for the 10-count at 2:25.
Inoue, 121.7 lbs is now 30-0 with 26 knockouts. Kim, 121.7 lbs of Seoul, SK is 21-3-2.
Sasaki Decisions Sakai
Jin Sasaki won a 12-round unanimous decision over Shohi Sakai in a welterweight bout.
In round five, Sasaki was cut over his right eye.
Sasaki is now 19-1-1. Sakai, 146.2 lbs is 29-1-5-3.
Top Rank Presents Undisputed Super Bantamweight Championship: Naoya Inoue vs. Ye Joon Kim Friday, January 24 Live & Exclusively on ESPN+ in the U.S.
Top Rank Boxing on ESPN: Inoue vs. Kim will stream live on Friday, Jan. 24, with a special early morning start time of 4:15 a.m. ET/ 1:15 a.m. PT exclusively on ESPN+ in the U.S. The event takes place at Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan.
Pound-for-pound great Naoya Inoue will defend his undisputed super bantamweight crown against Korean challenger Ye Joon Kim.
Inoue (28-0, 25 KOs) seeks his 10th consecutive knockout while making an unprecedented third defense of his undisputed title.
The 31-year-old unified the bantamweight division in 2022 by stopping Paul Butler, then claimed undisputed status in a second weight class with knockout victories over Stephen Fulton and Marlon Tapales in 2023. In May, he made history by headlining the first boxing card at Tokyo Dome since 1990, rising from a first-round knockdown to stop former two-weight world champion Luis Nery in the sixth. Inoue followed up the Nery triumph with a seventh-round TKO of former champion TJ Doheny in September.
Kim (21-2-2, 13 KOs) turned pro in 2012 and has spent most of his career fighting in Korea. He is a former IBF Asia super bantamweight champion who has won two straight since a majority decision defeat to veteran Rob Diezel in Auburn, Washington. He is currently ranked No. 11 in the world by the WBO.
Before the main event, the12-round welterweight co-feature showcases world-ranked welterweight contender Jin Sasaki (18-1-1, 17 KOs) against Shoki Sakai (29-14-3, 15 KOs) for the WBO Asia Pacific and OPBF belts.
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“The Fight Life” chronicles a year in the world of Top Rank Boxing through the journeys of five of the sport’s elite boxers: Tyson Fury, Naoya Inoue, Seniesa Estrada, Teofimo Lopez, and Josh Taylor.
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Naoya Inoue is ready for his fight against Ye Joon Kim on Frid to defend his World Boxing Association (WBA) super bantamweight belt, in addition to the WBO, WBC and IBF belts.
The Japanese will face the Korean at the Ariake Arena, in Koto Ku, in a new exhibition in front of his people after having had several date changes. He was originally scheduled to face Sam Goodman on Christmas Day but an injury to the Australian forced the bout to be rescheduled.
Both ready to fight this January 24, however, Goodman was again affected by the injury, so the solution was to request a new opponent for the champion.
In this case it will be the South Korean Joon Kim, who will have the most important fight of his career and the opportunity to show everyone his talent. A native of Seoul, he is 32 years old and has won three of his last four fights with knockouts to the three opponents he has defeated.
The challenger knows he has little to lose and much to gain, so he will try to make a good impression and surprise the champion in this fight.
Inoue has 28 wins, no losses and 25 knockouts, while Joon Kim comes into the fight with 21 wins, 2 setbacks, 2 draws and 13 knockouts.
January 24: Undisputed Super Bantamweight King Naoya Inoue to Face Late Replacement Ye Joon Kim LIVE on ESPN+
TOKYO (Jan. 13, 2025) — The Monster Show must go on.
Naoya Inoue will now defend his undisputed super bantamweight crown against Korean challenger Ye Joon Kim on Friday, Jan. 24, at Ariake Arena in Tokyo.
Inoue was scheduled to face undefeated Australian contender Sam Goodman, who withdrew from the bout twice due to cuts sustained in sparring. Kim, who is 2-0 on Japanese soil, stepped in on short notice to face the pound-for-pound stalwart.
Inoue-Kim and 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.
Inoue (28-0, 25 KOs) began his four-belt legacy in December 2022 when he stopped Paul Butler to unify all the bantamweight titles. Then, within a little over a year, the 31-year-old knocked out WBC/WBO champ Stephen Fulton in July 2023 and WBA/IBF king Marlon Tapales that December to achieve undisputed glory in a second weight class. He made history again last May by headlining the first boxing card at the Tokyo Dome since the historic Mike Tyson-Buster Douglas showdown, overcoming a first-round knockdown before icing former two-division world champion Luis Nery in six. In September, he registered a seventh-round TKO over one-time junior featherweight king TJ Doheny.
Kim (21-2-2, 13 KOs) turned pro in 2012 and has spent most of his career fighting in Korea. He is a former IBF Asia super bantamweight champion who has won two straight since a majority decision defeat to veteran Rob Diezel in Auburn, Washington. Kim picked up the WBO Oriental super bantamweight crown last May in Bangkok, Thailand, knocking out Rakesh Lohchab in the fifth round. He is currently ranked No. 11 in the world by the WBO.