Here's all you need to know ahead of Naoya Inoue's undisputed junior featherweight title defense against late replacement Ye Joon Kim on Friday.

Japanese fighter Naoya Inoue (28-0, 25 KOs) is considered by many to be the best pound-for-pound boxer in the world and on Friday, January 24, he will headline the first major card

Korean challenger Ye Joon Kim is a huge underdog as he steps in as a late replacement to take on the pound-for-pound phenomenon Naoya Inoue.

The new year has a growing number of events set for the first few months. Many of the sport's biggest names already have fights on the 2025 calendar, including several members of the pound-for-pound elite.

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 (28-0, 25 KOs) will defend his WBC/WBO/IBF/WBA super bantamweight title against the late replacement Ye Joon Kim (21-2-2, 13 KOs).

Over time, Naoya Inoue's fights have turned into must-see bouts that the "Monster" often turns into additions of his already-electric highlight reel.

Naoya Inoue is set to defend his undisputed world titles again this week, as Ye Joon Kim steps in for the injured Sam Goodman. Inoue, a four-division champion who has been undisputed at two weights, was due to box Goodman in December – in the Japanese superstar’s third defence of his super-bantamweight belts.