IBF, WBC and WBO super bantamweight champion Naoya “Monster” Inoue will defend replacement opponent Yi Jun Kim (21-2-2, 13 KO) in place of the injured Sam Goodman on January 24 at Ariake Arena, Koto- Ko in Tokyo, Japan.

Inoue management found 32-year-old South Korean Yi Jun Kim and brought 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. Inouye v. Goodman is expected to be rescheduled for later in 2025.

Rocky story?

The only problem fans have, besides not having heard of Kim before, is how he can be allowed to fight for Inoue’s three super bantamweight world titles when he’s not ranked in the top 15 by any of the four sanctioning bodies. Other than that, Yoon Kim is a good choice just like Naoya’s unpopular original choice, Sam Goodman.

Inoue’s team did a great job ‘rocky’- Picking a type, picking an unranked fighter that few people had ever heard of, and putting him in the spotlight to compete for three world titles. It would be more plausible if this were a non-world title fight without any of Inoue’s belts on the line. The “Monster” Inoue team has selected A Pork and eggs As his replacement. This is great for Kim and Naoya but lousy for the fans.

Allowing a non-compete to compete for three world titles is disgusting and completely unfair to the fans and the top 15 contenders who have been waiting for their chance at the world title against the Japanese star.

Boxing fans were not interested in seeing Inoue defend against Goodman (19-0, 8 KOs), seeing it as a typical mismatch for the Japanese star. Australian Goodman is an accomplished fighter with no power and could have been fodder for Naoya.

However, Goodman looks like a real talent compared to replacement contender, Yi Joon Kim, who two years ago lost to Sam Diesel (15-10, 4 KOS0) by eight-round majority decision on April 15, 2023.

YJohn Kim’s last six opponents:

Rakesh Lochab
John Bashan
Sam Diesel
Ruben Montoya Ramirez
Ryo Kusaka
Anusha Phuangkaew

The records of these fighters are extremely terrible, full of losses against obscure fighters. Again, how is Naoya Inoue allowed to defend against Ye Joon Kim instead of a credible rival?