Naoya Inoue will now defend his world junior featherweight championship against South Korea’s Ye Joon Kim on January 24 following the withdrawal of original opponent, Sam Goodman. 

The Australian had been scheduled to challenge the mighty Inoue, 28-0 (25 KOs), on December 24 until an eye injury suffered on the last day of sparring forced a postponement. A recurrence of that injury caused Goodman to pull out again – and open the door of opportunity for Kim, 21-2-2 (13 KOs).

Kim, 32, is currently ranked No. 11 by the WBO but is absent from the top 15 of the WBC, WBA and IBF. It is nonetheless expected that Inoue’s four belts will be on the line inside the Ariake Arena in Japan.

The 31-year-old Inoue will be a ginormous favourite to retain those titles. Kim has barely flirted with world class opposition during his 12-year professional career and was outpointed over eight rounds by Rob Diezel in 2023. His most recent outing saw him halt Rakesh Lohchab last May.

Inoue, aptly known as “The Monster”, was last in action in September, feasting on the overmatched TJ Doheny in September.