Naoya Inoue Knocks Out Ye Joon Kim in 4 Rounds

On January 24, at the Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan, Naoya Inoue (29-0, 26 KOs), the undisputed super bantamweight champion, faced South Korea’s Ye Joon Kim (21-3-2, 13 KOs) in his first fight of 2025.

The bout ended early in the 4th round. Kim found himself against the ropes and invited Inoue to attack. Naoya obliged, launching a barrage that finished the fight.

This marks Inoue’s third defense of his undisputed championship status. Remarkably, only one of his three challengers has made it past the midway point of the fight.

Kim last lost in 2023, via a decision against Rob Diesel. Since then, he had two fights, winning both by stoppage. This defeat marks the first time the Korean has been stopped in his career.