Monster Show Rolls On: Inoue v Kim Preview and Prediction

THE SHOW MUST GO ON, IT’S FIGHT WEEK 👹#InoueKim | JAN 24 | @ESPNPlus pic.twitter.com/2D3ujpzDL7

— Top Rank Boxing (@trboxing) January 20, 2025

Naoya Inoue (1.008) vs Ye Joon Kim (15.00) (Undisputed Super Bantamweight Championship)

When: Friday, 24 January, 2 PM SAST

The personification of the phrase dynamite comes in small packages, Inoue’s is not a name many casual fans will be familiar with, but they should be.

Missing out on seeing “The Monster” in action is a travesty. At 31, he’s already one of the all-time greats, a four-weight world champion with a perfect record of 28-0 with 25 knockouts. 

He’s a diminutive destroyer, a contract killer who not only wants to beat the man he shares the squared circle with but take his head off. Lightning-quick with the blasting power of a shotgun, he’s a must-watch talent.

Inoue keeps getting better and making history. In December 2022, he packed up Paul Butler to unify all the bantamweight titles. Not content, he knocked out WBC and WBO champion Stephen Fulton in July 2023 and WBA and IBF titleholder Marlon Tapales that December to become an undisputed champion in a second weight class.

Last May, he made more history when he headlined the first boxing card at the Tokyo Dome since the historic Mike Tyson-Buster Douglas showdown. After being knocked down for the first time in his career, he roared back to stop former two-division world champion Luis Nery with one of the best knockouts of the year. Most recently, he finished former junior featherweight king TJ Doheny in September.

We were almost robbed of a chance to see him do his thing this month as his originally scheduled opponent, undefeated Australian Sam Goodman, withdrew from the bout twice due to cuts he sustained in sparring.

Fortunately, South Korea’s Kim has stepped in on short notice. It takes a brave man to face Inoue on the best of terms, let alone on less than two weeks’ notice, so he deserves a ton of credit. For Kim, who is 2-0 on Japanese soil, the world title shot is a dream come true, but unfortunately for him, that dream is destined to turn into a nightmare.

Currently ranked No. 11 in the world by the WBO, Kim holds a record of 21-2-2 with 13 knockouts. A former IBF Asian super bantamweight champion, he’s rebounded from a decision defeat to veteran Rob Diezel with back-to-back knockout wins over John Basan and Rakesh Lohchab, the latter earning him the WBO Oriental super bantamweight title last May.

“Troublemaker” has good footwork and sound fundamentals and has never been knocked out, but he’s also never fought anyone the calibre of Inoue. Nothing he’s shown in his solid rather than spectacular 13-year professional career suggests he’ll be able to shock the world.

Is there a possibility that Inoue will overlook him? He’s a consummate professional, so I doubt it. Instead, he should stop an outmatched Kim in short order.

Prediction: Inoue by knockout.
Best Bet: Under 3.5 rounds at 1.86.