Goodman Out, Ye Joon Kim In Against Naoya Inoue on Jan. 24

It’s déjà vu all over again for Naoya Inoue and Sam Goodman. Goodman suffered a second, more serious cut in training in the past few days. The first cut delayed the December 24 IBF mandatory challenge at Ariake Arena in Tokyo to January 24.

This time, Inoue will not wait for Goodman.

Inoue’s team and the WBO scoured the rankings and came up with Ye Joon Kim of South Korea (21-2-2, 13 KOs). Kim is currently ranked number 11 in the super bantamweight division. He agreed to take the fight on two weeks’ notice.

The other three sanctioning organizations do not have Kim ranked, so he is only eligible to win the WBO belt and not the others held by the undisputed champion Inoue (28-0, 25 KOs). The fight will not count as Inoue’s IBF mandatory obligation. He must still face an IBF challenger.

Inoue: ‘I Was Surprised’

In an X/Twitter post, Naoya Inoue said he was surprised the fight had been saved, thanking his team. Photo: Naoya Inoue/Twitter

Inoue posted his reaction to the news on his X/Twitter account.

“To be honest, I was surprised, but I am grateful to Chairman Ohashi for providing me with an opponent even in this situation. With less than two weeks until the match, we’ve managed to switch gears.

“We are very sorry to our fans, but we ask for your continued support on January 24th. We will show you our best performance on the day.”

Who is Ye Joon Kim?

Ye Joon Kim is stepping in with two weeks’ notice to face Naoya Inoue in the biggest fight of his life. Photo: Tapology/Instagram

Kim, age 32, is nicknamed “Pacquiweather.” The Seoul native turned pro at age 19. His two draws and one of his losses were in his early fights 13 years ago. His only recent loss was against American Rob Dietzel of Seattle (15-10, 4 KOs) by decision on a club fights card in April 2023 in Auburn, Washington.

Kim has won his last two fights by early TKOs, the last in May 2024 to win the WBO Global Oriental title against Rakesh Lohchab of India in Thailand.

To say Kim is taking a huge step up is stating the obvious. Still, give Kim credit for taking a chance on himself. He’s never been stopped, and he has nothing to lose.

Inoue has blown out plenty of more experienced, highly rated opponents. If Kim can look competitive for even a few rounds, perhaps half the fight, he will have gained more exposure and respect than his 13 years’ worth of fights combined.

What Happened to Sam Goodman?

According to a report from FOX Sports Australia, Goodman suffered the second cut during training on Friday. The injury is reported to be much worse than the first cut that caused a month’s postponement. Goodman was scheduled for plastic surgery this weekend to tidy up the injury and prevent issues moving forward. He will be out at least six months.

Goodman’s promoter, Max Rose of No Limit Boxing, described Goodman and the entire team as ‘devastated.’

Sam Goodman posted this photo, along with several others from training, just a day before his second eye injury. Photo: SamGoodman9/Instagram

The Australian boxer had avoided sparring for the past couple of weeks, fearing the injury would reopen. Instead, Goodman was “moving around with training partners in the gym” and doing light contact work to train for the bout. Unfortunately for him, the cut still opened during a session doing exactly that.

“After everything Sam went through the first time around, and now to have it happen again … I really don’t know what to say. There aren’t any words. The amount of time everyone has put into this. All the sacrifices Sam has made,” said Rose.

Rose said Goodman would be hurried into plastic surgery to ensure the damaged area mends. “For this to open like it has again, he’s obviously got soft skin there that we need to look at.”

Goodman had posted training photos to his Instagram account within the last day. Upset fans are posting vicious comments in response to the second cancellation, which makes it worse.

Who’s Next On The IBF Rankings?

Goodman was Inoue’s IBF mandatory challenger. According to the IBF, Inoue will still have to fulfill that obligation because Kim is not qualified. The IBF will need to determine the availability of every ranked contender in descending order after Goodman.

They are (in order starting with third, as the second position is vacant) Marlon Tapales of the Philippines, Shabaz Masoud of England, Toshiki Simomachi of Japan, Elijah Pierce of the United States, Carl Jammes Martin of the Philippines, Ramon Cardenas and Dylan Price of the United States, and Jerwin Ancajas of the Philippines.

Naoya Inoue won the second undisputed, unified championship of his career on December 26, 2023, against Marlon Tapales. Photo: Naoki Fukuda

Inoue knocked out Tapales a year ago. Simomachi is on the January 24 undercard, facing Misaki Hirano of Japan. Ancajas has a fight on January 25 in the Philippines. Takuma Inoue stopped him in nine rounds a year ago. Masoud defeated Liam Davies by split decision on the Queensberry Magnificent Seven card on November 2.

If the IBF insists on making a fight from this list, Inoue’s plan to fight Alan Picasso of Mexico next will be threatened. Inoue’s team may be forced to drop the IBF belt, and who could blame him if he and his team decided to wash their hands of the entire mess?