Our resident boxing insider Rob Tebbutt provides his best bets for Friday's undisputed super-bantamweight championship showdown between pound-for-pound superstar Naoya Inoue and South Korean challenger Ye Joon-Kim.
Naoya Inoue faces Ye Joon Kim on Friday night, as he makes the long-awaited return to the ring after a frustrating spell for the pound-for-pound king.
Originally scheduled to face Australian mandatory challenger Sam Goodman in Decemeber, Inoue’s return was delayed not once, but twice due to cuts sustained by Goodman in sparring.
Inoue now faces late-replacement Kim in a bout where, unsurprisingly, the Japanese star is an overwhelming favourite to retain his undisputed super-bantamweight titles.
Realistically, a win for Kim is unthinkable.
Not only would it be a nailed-on winner of ‘Upset of the Year’ for 2025, it would have a strong claim to being the biggest upset in the history of the entire sport!
In truth, it has been many years since Inoue faced an opponent of such poor quality and, while he cannot be blamed for Goodman’s injuries, Inoue is levels and levels above Kim and should be dealing with him accordingly.
If the bout makes it past the first three rounds, it’s because Inoue wants it to - but I sense it won’t and am expecting Inoue to blast the hideously over-matched Kim out of there inside the first nine minutes…
(Odds will display when markets are available).