Unified super bantamweight champion Naoya Inoue’s title defense against replacement opponent Ye Joon Kim (21-2-2, 13 KOs) is two days away, and surprisingly, there zero buzz about this fight on Friday January 24th.
(Credit: Naoki Fakuda)
No Buzz
It’s a sign that Japanese star ‘Monster’ Inoue (28-0, 25 KOs) needs to challenge himself by moving up to featherweight so he can start facing opposition that the rest of the world cares about outside of his native Japan .
Inoue is pretty rich, fights whoever he wants, and it’s possible he doesn’t mind taking risks at this point in his career. He had it easy, winning world titles in four divisions and facing none other than 36-year-old Nonito Donaire. Inoue has a broken right orbital bone and a broken nose in their first fight on November 7, 2019. You can only imagine what a younger Donaire would have done to Inoue.
The event will be streamed live on ESPN+ this Friday at 4:15 a.m. ET/1:15 a.m. PT from Ariake Arena, Koto-Ku, in Tokyo, Japan. Few American boxing fans will see this fight because they won’t want to get up early on Friday to see what figures to be another mismatch for Inoue. You have to wonder what Top Rank thinks of this fight.
Inoue, 31, was scheduled to defend against his bond Sam Goodmanbut he pulled out with an eye injury. It was just as lackluster of a fight as the Kim one, and fans had no interest.
Featherweight Options
It is unclear why Naoya stubbornly chooses to stay at 122 to fight the obscure opposition rather than move up to 126 to face these killers:
– Rafael Espinoza
– King Vargas
– Bruce Carrington
– Angelo Leo
– Nick Ball
– Brandon Figueroa
– Sulaiman Segawa
– Otabek Kholmatov
The answer is pretty obvious as to why Inoue chooses not to move up to featherweight. It’s too hard. You could argue that Naoya doesn’t want to lose, of course, and wants to see the bottom of his career fall. I can’t blame him because of the easy money coming in without Inoue taking any risks. I would probably do the same thing. It beats working for a living.
Take no risks, get the easy cash, and savor the filet mignon soft opposition for the next ten years before retirement. It’s weak, of course, but it’s better than getting knocked out with a featherweight against one of the killers.
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