Inoue vs Kim: Date, fight time, undercard, latest odds, prediction and ring walks
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Naoya Inoue finally returns to action on Friday when he fights Ye Joon Kim in Tokyo. ‘The Monster’ is preparing to defend his undisputed super-bantamweight world titles for the third time against a late replacement opponent. Inoue was originally supposed to battle Sam Goodman on Christmas Eve, only for the fight to be postponed after the challenger suffered a cut above his eye during sparring.
The bout was subsequently pushed back to January 24, only for a recurrence of that same injury to then lead to Goodman withdrawing again at two weeks’ notice. Stepping up for one of the toughest tasks in boxing against an undefeated pound-for-pound great and one of the sport’s most devastating knockout artists is Kim, the South Korean fighter nicknamed ‘Troublemaker’ who has a 21-2-2 professional record.
The odds are firmly stacked (to say the least) against Kim, who has won his last two fights against Rakesh Lohchab and John Basan after losing a decision against Rob Diezel in America in April 2023 - his first defeat for more than a decade. Naoya Inoue vs Ye Joon Kim takes place on Friday January 24, 2025 at the Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan.
Friday’s undercard is expected to begin at around 8am GMT, which is 5pm local time. Main event ring walks are scheduled for approximately 11am (8pm JST). As ever, those timings are approximate and subject to change. Japan’s WBO bantamweight champion Yoshiki Takei was due to headline the undercard against Yuttapong Tongdee of Thailand, only to suffer a shoulder injury in December that has ruled him out.
