IBF, WBC and WBO super bantamweight champion Naoya ‘Monster’ Inoue will defend against replacement opponent Ie Joon Kim (21-2-2, 13 KOs) in place of injured mandatory Sam Goodman on January 24 at the Ariake Arena, Koto-ku, Tokyo. Japan.
Inoue’s management found 32-year-old South Korean Ie Joon Kim and inserted him as Naoya’s replacement to defend his three belts in 13 days on January 24. Goodman (19-0, 8 KOs) pulled out of the fight against Inoue due to another eye injury. Inoue is expected to play Goodman again later in 2025.
Rocky Story?
One question from fans, aside from never having heard of Kim before, is how he can be allowed to challenge for Inoue’s three world super bantamweight titles when he is not ranked in the top 15 by any of the four sanctioning bodies. Besides, Yoon Kim is just as good an option as Nao’s unpopular original choice, Sam Goodman.
Inoue’s team made a ‘Rocky’- picking a guy, picking an unranked fighter that few people have heard of and putting him in the spotlight to challenge for three world titles. It would have been more enjoyable if this was a non-world title fight with none of Inoue’s belts on the line. Team ‘Monster’ Inoue chose a ham and eggs as his replacement. That’s great for Kim and Naoya, but bad for the fans.
Allowing a non-contender to fight for three world titles is disgusting and grossly unfair to the fans and the top 15 contenders who have been waiting for their world title shot against the Japanese star.
Boxing fans weren’t interested in seeing Inoue defend against Goodman (19-0, 8 KOs), seeing it as a typical mismatch for the Japanese star. Aussie Goodman is a nice fighter without power and would be fodder for Naoya.
However, Goodman looks like a real talent compared to replacement opponent, Ie Joon Kim, who lost two years ago to journeyman Sam Diesel (15-10, 4 KOS0 by majority decision in eight rounds on April 15, 2023).
IJoon Kim’s last six opponents:
Rakesh Lohchab
Jovan Bashan
Diesel himself
Ruben Montoya Ramirez
Rio Kosaka
Anocha Phuangkaev
Those fighters’ records are simply terrible, filled with losses against obscure fighters. Again, how in the world is Naoya Inoue allowed to defend against Ie Joon Kim and not a credible contender?