Naoya Inoue vs. Ye Joon Kim: Press Conference Quotes and Fight Prediction

Naoya Inoue (28-0, 25 KOs) will soon defend his undisputed super bantamweight championship against Ye Joon Kim (21-2-2, 13 KOs).

The fight headlines an Ohashi Promotions card at the Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan. Teiken Promotions and Top Rank Boxing are also involved in promoting this event. Fight fans in Japan can catch the action live on Lemino. Those in the United States can do so with ESPN+. In the United Kingdom and Ireland, the fight will air on Sky Sports+. Those in Canada can watch with TSN+.

Originally, Inoue was to defend his undisputed status against Sam Goodman on December 24. The fight got pushed back by a month to allow the Australian time to recover from a cut over his left eye. As the new date of January 24 approached, Goodman withdrew again “due to a recurrence of his eye injury,” as his promoter No Limit Boxing put it. As a result, Kim stepped in to keep the event on.

Ahead of their clash on Friday, Inoue and Kim held a press conference. Below is some of what they said. Translation to English courtesy of Asian Boxing.

Naoya Inoue vs. Ye Joon Kim Press Conference Quotes

Naoya Inoue

“The two cancellations and the one-month delay in the match date messed up my training schedule,” said Inoue in Japanese. “But what I thought about adjusting to this schedule was that getting my body in shape over a long period of time was a great plus for me. I thought that this adjustment was the best way to prepare for big matches in the future.”

Ye Joon Kim

“I’ve been preparing for a month now, so there’s no problem,” said Kim in Korean. “It’s an honor for all boxers to fight Inoue. However, I don’t intend to end it easily. I can’t reveal the details, but I’ll knock him out with my style. I’ll do my best from the first round.”

Fight Prediction

To say this fight is a mismatch would be a massive understatement. Kim in nowhere near the level of Inoue. The challenger from South Korea may be very determined, but it is hard to see how he could possibly win this fight. Inoue has fought opposition like Kim before (see Michael Dasmarinas). Expect this fight to end within four rounds and Inoue to remain undisputed.

Full Press Conference

For the press conference in its entirety, click here or the play button below. Video courtesy of Top Rank Boxing.