Inoue vs. Kim: Battle for Boxing Supremacy

Unified super bantamweight champion Naoya Inoue will put his IBF, WBC, WBO and WBA belts on the line in a 12-round clash against Ye Joon Kim on Friday at Ariake Arena in Tokyo.

The bout will mark the third undisputed title defense for Inoue (28-0, 25 KOs). In May 2024, the 31-year-old knocked out Luis Nery with 50,000-plus in attendance at a sold-out Tokyo Dome. Inoue then retained his four 122-pound belts in September with a seventh-round TKO of TJ Doheny.

Kim (21-2-2, 13 KOs) will challenge for a world title for the first time, and he'll do it on short notice. Inoue was originally scheduled to face Australia's Sam Goodman (19-0, 8 KOs), but the recurrence of an eye injury forced the 26-year-old Goodman to withdraw from the fight against Inoue for the second time in a month. ESPN's No. 4-ranked junior featherweight now will need plastic surgery that will sideline him approximately six months, sources told ESPN.

Inoue, ESPN's No. 3-ranked pound-for-pound boxer, announced on Jan. 10 that the 32-year-old Kim of South Korea would take Goodman's place in the bout.

Also on the card:

• Jin Sasaki (18-1-1, 17 KOs) faces Shoki Sakai (29-14-3, 15 KOs) in a welterweight bout scheduled for 12 rounds.

• Goki Kobayashi (8-1-0, 5 KOs) and Yuni Takada (15-8-3, 6 KOs) meet in a minimumweight bout.

• Toshiki Shimomachi (19-1-3, 12 KOs) faces Misaki Hirano (11-1-0, 4 KOs) in a matchup of super bantamweight contenders.

• Tsubasa Narai (14-2-0, 10 KOs) clashes with Kai Watanabe (13-1-1, 7 KOs) in a 10-round lightweight bout.

  Where can I watch the Inoue-Kim fight card?

  Coverage begins Friday at 4:15 a.m. ET on ESPN+. Fans can catch all the action in the fight card's streaming hub.

  How can fans access more boxing content from ESPN?

  Check out the ESPN boxing hub page for the latest news, schedules, rankings and more.