[Boxing] Inoue vs Goodman December 24th

[Mr. Magkaisa]

A new opponent has been announced for Inoue and it will be an unknown Korean boxer named Ye Joon Kim, who has a record of 21-2-2 (13 KOs). Looking at the names on his record, he should not be much of a challenge. I guess being the WBO Oriental champion is enough to qualify Kim for a title opportunity, but I do not see how the other organizations can accept this as a title defense for Inoue, considering Kim has no real meaningful wins. For an opponent with two weeks notice, this is the kind of fighter I would expect. Hopefully Inoue gets him out of there early and moves on quickly to much better opposition in the coming months.

Well, this turned out to be a total disaster, I mean this mandatory title defence match is basically guaranteed on Inuoe's side. It would have been nice to see a more capable fighter( ), but then again, with such short notice, they probably picked the fighter who was readily available for the fight.

What do we expct from this fighter? He who always choose the easy way and nothe right match.
he should be facing Casimero a long time ago but still choosing the othe way. Always picking on the weaker opponent and stay on ther country.
We should see a fight at MGM with this Japan's champ vs the world champ.

I very much agree and the boxing news media and writers should create a storyline that Naoya Inoue is very much afraid to take a risk against better boxers in his weight division. I was not very excited on this Sam Goodman already, This boxer from Korea has very much decreased the expectation and has increased the disappointment. If his next fights on featherweight does not include Brandon Figueroa because he will avoid another risk, I reckon we are witnessing this Inoue is becoming very much similar to the scammer Tank Davis.

In any case, Brandon Figueroa will fight Stephen Fulton on a rematch. I wish this will be a knockout for Brandon Figueroa and Inoue will witness this.

He might be interested to see this fight though, he already knockout Stephen Fulton so it doesn't make sense for him to root for Fulton. Although his chances to become a champion at 126 is higher if Fulton wins and then Inoue going after him in the US for a fight. But that is if Fulton beat this version of Figueroa. Yeah, he beat Brandon before at 122 lbs but it was a very close fight and I think they have robbed Brandon that time.

So a rematch again for Fulton and Figueroa and this time, the WBC will be in the line. So the winner might be interested to fight Inoue or Inoue is the one chasing as he is going up in weight after this fight. In any case, for me it will be better if Brandon is going to win as it will be a big test for Inoue then as he hasn't seen a fighter with the length and the physical advantage over him.

 The main question on this is, Does Inoue wants to fight outside japan?
He is protected by their own rules in boxing on their country. they are treating their champ like a baby.
I do believe until now that this boxer is a fake champion and only choose the fight that he is winning.
If they will tell that Inoue beat Donaire a world champ already, Where? and when? the old Donaire?

He should beat a world champ on ihis prime outside Japan!

[bbc.reporter]

A new opponent has been announced for Inoue and it will be an unknown Korean boxer named Ye Joon Kim, who has a record of 21-2-2 (13 KOs). Looking at the names on his record, he should not be much of a challenge. I guess being the WBO Oriental champion is enough to qualify Kim for a title opportunity, but I do not see how the other organizations can accept this as a title defense for Inoue, considering Kim has no real meaningful wins. For an opponent with two weeks notice, this is the kind of fighter I would expect. Hopefully Inoue gets him out of there early and moves on quickly to much better opposition in the coming months.

Well, this turned out to be a total disaster, I mean this mandatory title defence match is basically guaranteed on Inuoe's side. It would have been nice to see a more capable fighter( ), but then again, with such short notice, they probably picked the fighter who was readily available for the fight.

What do we expct from this fighter? He who always choose the easy way and nothe right match.
he should be facing Casimero a long time ago but still choosing the othe way. Always picking on the weaker opponent and stay on ther country.
We should see a fight at MGM with this Japan's champ vs the world champ.

I very much agree and the boxing news media and writers should create a storyline that Naoya Inoue is very much afraid to take a risk against better boxers in his weight division. I was not very excited on this Sam Goodman already, This boxer from Korea has very much decreased the expectation and has increased the disappointment. If his next fights on featherweight does not include Brandon Figueroa because he will avoid another risk, I reckon we are witnessing this Inoue is becoming very much similar to the scammer Tank Davis.

In any case, Brandon Figueroa will fight Stephen Fulton on a rematch. I wish this will be a knockout for Brandon Figueroa and Inoue will witness this.

He might be interested to see this fight though, he already knockout Stephen Fulton so it doesn't make sense for him to root for Fulton. Although his chances to become a champion at 126 is higher if Fulton wins and then Inoue going after him in the US for a fight. But that is if Fulton beat this version of Figueroa. Yeah, he beat Brandon before at 122 lbs but it was a very close fight and I think they have robbed Brandon that time.

So a rematch again for Fulton and Figueroa and this time, the WBC will be in the line. So the winner might be interested to fight Inoue or Inoue is the one chasing as he is going up in weight after this fight. In any case, for me it will be better if Brandon is going to win as it will be a big test for Inoue then as he hasn't seen a fighter with the length and the physical advantage over him.

I reckon if Naoya Inoue's team and his old man promoter, owner of Top Rank Bob Arum wants to challenge Brandon Figueroa if he is the winner, I reckon they should bring Inoue to Las Vegas to watch this fight and also take pictures with the fans. Inoue can also meet and talk to boxing sponsors and express his wish to fight in Las Vegas.

I predict that this might begin a marketing campaign to bring this Japanese boxer to America and if Brandon Figueroa mentions Naoya's name after the fight inside the ring or in an interview, we can be quite certain that this fight will be negotiated this year.

[btc_angela]

A new opponent has been announced for Inoue and it will be an unknown Korean boxer named Ye Joon Kim, who has a record of 21-2-2 (13 KOs). Looking at the names on his record, he should not be much of a challenge. I guess being the WBO Oriental champion is enough to qualify Kim for a title opportunity, but I do not see how the other organizations can accept this as a title defense for Inoue, considering Kim has no real meaningful wins. For an opponent with two weeks notice, this is the kind of fighter I would expect. Hopefully Inoue gets him out of there early and moves on quickly to much better opposition in the coming months.

Well, this turned out to be a total disaster, I mean this mandatory title defence match is basically guaranteed on Inuoe's side. It would have been nice to see a more capable fighter( ), but then again, with such short notice, they probably picked the fighter who was readily available for the fight.

What do we expct from this fighter? He who always choose the easy way and nothe right match.
he should be facing Casimero a long time ago but still choosing the othe way. Always picking on the weaker opponent and stay on ther country.
We should see a fight at MGM with this Japan's champ vs the world champ.

I very much agree and the boxing news media and writers should create a storyline that Naoya Inoue is very much afraid to take a risk against better boxers in his weight division. I was not very excited on this Sam Goodman already, This boxer from Korea has very much decreased the expectation and has increased the disappointment. If his next fights on featherweight does not include Brandon Figueroa because he will avoid another risk, I reckon we are witnessing this Inoue is becoming very much similar to the scammer Tank Davis.

In any case, Brandon Figueroa will fight Stephen Fulton on a rematch. I wish this will be a knockout for Brandon Figueroa and Inoue will witness this.

He might be interested to see this fight though, he already knockout Stephen Fulton so it doesn't make sense for him to root for Fulton. Although his chances to become a champion at 126 is higher if Fulton wins and then Inoue going after him in the US for a fight. But that is if Fulton beat this version of Figueroa. Yeah, he beat Brandon before at 122 lbs but it was a very close fight and I think they have robbed Brandon that time.

So a rematch again for Fulton and Figueroa and this time, the WBC will be in the line. So the winner might be interested to fight Inoue or Inoue is the one chasing as he is going up in weight after this fight. In any case, for me it will be better if Brandon is going to win as it will be a big test for Inoue then as he hasn't seen a fighter with the length and the physical advantage over him.

 The main question on this is, Does Inoue wants to fight outside japan?
He is protected by their own rules in boxing on their country. they are treating their champ like a baby.
I do believe until now that this boxer is a fake champion and only choose the fight that he is winning.
If they will tell that Inoue beat Donaire a world champ already, Where? and when? the old Donaire?

He should beat a world champ on ihis prime outside Japan!

Yes, if my memory serves me right, he already mentioned that after his fight with the supposedly Sam Goodman, he will be fighting next in the US. Perhaps they have a agreement with Bob Arum that certain amount of fights will be in Japan and then in the US.

So I guess this is the last time or at least after this fight, he will be going stateside moving forward.
@bbc.reporter - yes, that's possible, Inoue at the ringside watching the Fulton vs Figueroa rematch and then if Brandon wins, then he will go up with his interpreter and Arum himself and challenge Brandon for his belt. That will be a interesting marketing ploy and for sure fans are going to be captivated with that kind of matchup.

[Maslate]

The main question on this is, Does Inoue wants to fight outside japan?

Inoue has fought outside Japan before and won all those fights. You can check his record here: https://boxrec.com/en/box-pro/628407. Maybe he just feels more comfortable in the lower divisions, and since it’s not as popular, he sticks to fighting in Japan. But if he moves up, most of the fights will likely be in the US because he’ll become the challenger. And I believe, Bob Arum wouldn’t have signed Inoue just to let all his fights happen in Japan.

[Dave1]

The main question on this is, Does Inoue wants to fight outside japan?

Inoue has fought outside Japan before and won all those fights. You can check his record here: https://boxrec.com/en/box-pro/628407. Maybe he just feels more comfortable in the lower divisions, and since it’s not as popular, he sticks to fighting in Japan. But if he moves up, most of the fights will likely be in the US because he’ll become the challenger. And I believe, Bob Arum wouldn’t have signed Inoue just to let all his fights happen in Japan.

Yes, he has fought outside of Japan many times already. And I do agree that he might be comfortable fighting in his native country because obviously he has the advantage of the climate and familiarity.

And he is not only manage by Bob Arum, but Inoue has his Japanese manager as well, that's why the control is not on Bob Arum totally. Maybe Arum wanted him to fight in the US but his Japanese manager doesn't want to.

But now Arum said that Inoue is willing to fight again in the US or any place outside of his country.

[Distinctin]

But now Arum said that Inoue is willing to fight again in the US or any place outside of his country.

only happens if he finally decide to move up.

[TravelMug]

But now Arum said that Inoue is willing to fight again in the US or any place outside of his country.

only happens if he finally decide to move up.

I do believed that he is willing to move up in weight class, after the Fulton win, I can't remember but I hear interviews during that time that his next target was to go up in 126 lbs. So it's not a question on whether he is interested or not, it's the question on when and who will be his initial test, will it be against a champion at 126 lbs? Or will he take a tune up fight first in the US before going after those big names?

And this can happen this year, seeing him in the US and fighting big names.
He is a huge favorite here and there's no value in betting on him at ML at it is the lowest at 1.01.

[Jating]

Here is the weigh-in video,



12 rounds – Undisputed junior featherweight championship

Naoya Inoue – 121 3/4 lbs
Ye Joon Kim – 121 3/4lbs

So there's no problem whatsoever in the weigh-in, as both make it below the required weight.

And as we can see, Inoue looks very sharp and focus, and we should be looking for another highlight knockout win again. Looking forward to him winning this fight and fight not going into 4 rounds.

[Fredomago]

But now Arum said that Inoue is willing to fight again in the US or any place outside of his country.

only happens if he finally decide to move up.

I do believed that he is willing to move up in weight class, after the Fulton win, I can't remember but I hear interviews during that time that his next target was to go up in 126 lbs. So it's not a question on whether he is interested or not, it's the question on when and who will be his initial test, will it be against a champion at 126 lbs? Or will he take a tune up fight first in the US before going after those big names?

And this can happen this year, seeing him in the US and fighting big names.
He is a huge favorite here and there's no value in betting on him at ML at it is the lowest at 1.01.

Let see after this once he fight outside his comfort zone, like what you mentioned not worthy for the ML as the odd is really small and not worth risking your money, not unless you've got a huge amount of money that you are willing to risk even how small the odd if you'll be using huge amount that's still something, for sure there are gambler who can take that kind of risk.

[Kemarit]

But now Arum said that Inoue is willing to fight again in the US or any place outside of his country.

only happens if he finally decide to move up.

I do believed that he is willing to move up in weight class, after the Fulton win, I can't remember but I hear interviews during that time that his next target was to go up in 126 lbs. So it's not a question on whether he is interested or not, it's the question on when and who will be his initial test, will it be against a champion at 126 lbs? Or will he take a tune up fight first in the US before going after those big names?

And this can happen this year, seeing him in the US and fighting big names.
He is a huge favorite here and there's no value in betting on him at ML at it is the lowest at 1.01.

Let see after this once he fight outside his comfort zone, like what you mentioned not worthy for the ML as the odd is really small and not worth risking your money, not unless you've got a huge amount of money that you are willing to risk even how small the odd if you'll be using huge amount that's still something, for sure there are gambler who can take that kind of risk.

Even if I have huge amount of money? I wouldn't bet on a 1.01 or 1.02 odds, although we have seen whales do that, but there was one who bet millions but he lost it. So still not a guarantee, and I wouldn't want to take that risk even if it is Inoue, just saying.

In any case, there could be boxing fans that will not be betting here or not interested as he is a facing a replacement boxer and so there's not much challenge on Inoue here. Of course we wanted him to win and see that he will be true to his words that he will go out of his comfort zone for once and fight in the US when he moves up in weight at 126-lbs as there are a lot of challenges for him at that weight class.

[ultrloa]

But now Arum said that Inoue is willing to fight again in the US or any place outside of his country.

only happens if he finally decide to move up.

I do believed that he is willing to move up in weight class, after the Fulton win, I can't remember but I hear interviews during that time that his next target was to go up in 126 lbs. So it's not a question on whether he is interested or not, it's the question on when and who will be his initial test, will it be against a champion at 126 lbs? Or will he take a tune up fight first in the US before going after those big names?

And this can happen this year, seeing him in the US and fighting big names.
He is a huge favorite here and there's no value in betting on him at ML at it is the lowest at 1.01.

They are studying that situation since I guess they don't want to rush everything.

And base on the articles I've read before that he will stay on his current weight class for 2 years https://www.boxing247.com/boxing-news/naoya-inoue-to-stay-at-122-pounds-for-two-more-years/280567

Maybe he consider to do that after his 2 years dominance and he don't get any excitement on 122 pounds anymore. I also want to see Inoue to go US then see if he could still dominate the same on what he do in Japan.

[coin-investor]

And base on the articles I've read before that he will stay on his current weight class for 2 years https://www.boxing247.com/boxing-news/naoya-inoue-to-stay-at-122-pounds-for-two-more-years/280567

Maybe he consider to do that after his 2 years dominance and he don't get any excitement on 122 pounds anymore. I also want to see Inoue to go US then see if he could still dominate the same on what he do in Japan.

Did he and his team access his skill and power and find that he is still insufficient to challenge fighters in the Featherweight division? I think that's an honest assessment. its my opinion that the Featherweight is loaded with big names, and he may face adversity in this division.
But two years is quite long, and there's no opposition in his division. The good news is for the boxing community, they can continue to taunt Inoue to fight Casimero; this battle has long been overdue and many things happen in that two years, so I'm hoping that he will finally meet Casimero in the ring.

[acroman08]

A new opponent has been announced for Inoue and it will be an unknown Korean boxer named Ye Joon Kim, who has a record of 21-2-2 (13 KOs). Looking at the names on his record, he should not be much of a challenge. I guess being the WBO Oriental champion is enough to qualify Kim for a title opportunity, but I do not see how the other organizations can accept this as a title defense for Inoue, considering Kim has no real meaningful wins. For an opponent with two weeks notice, this is the kind of fighter I would expect. Hopefully Inoue gets him out of there early and moves on quickly to much better opposition in the coming months.

Well, this turned out to be a total disaster, I mean this mandatory title defence match is basically guaranteed on Inuoe's side. It would have been nice to see a more capable fighter( ), but then again, with such short notice, they probably picked the fighter who was readily available for the fight.

What do we expct from this fighter? He who always choose the easy way and nothe right match.
he should be facing Casimero a long time ago but still choosing the othe way. Always picking on the weaker opponent and stay on ther country.
We should see a fight at MGM with this Japan's champ vs the world champ.

I very much agree and the boxing news media and writers should create a storyline that Naoya Inoue is very much afraid to take a risk against better boxers in his weight division. I was not very excited on this Sam Goodman already, This boxer from Korea has very much decreased the expectation and has increased the disappointment. If his next fights on featherweight does not include Brandon Figueroa because he will avoid another risk, I reckon we are witnessing this Inoue is becoming very much similar to the scammer Tank Davis.

In any case, Brandon Figueroa will fight Stephen Fulton on a rematch. I wish this will be a knockout for Brandon Figueroa and Inoue will witness this.

this is what's boring with today's boxing, a lot of them are becoming too afraid of taking risky fights that could put a loss on their record and a lot of them are relying on their PR team to hype them up to the people. while I understand they want a good and clean record it is just becoming boring.

[Baofeng]

The main question on this is, Does Inoue wants to fight outside japan?

Inoue has fought outside Japan before and won all those fights. You can check his record here: https://boxrec.com/en/box-pro/628407. Maybe he just feels more comfortable in the lower divisions, and since it’s not as popular, he sticks to fighting in Japan. But if he moves up, most of the fights will likely be in the US because he’ll become the challenger. And I believe, Bob Arum wouldn’t have signed Inoue just to let all his fights happen in Japan.

It's inevitable, as he signed a contract with the powerful broker, HE Turki Alalshikh



https://x.com/naoyainoue_410/status/1853612826302329336

And with that, he could either be fighting in Saudi or in the US next. For the weight class, he has nothing to proved in the 122 lbs and as based on reports, he will be moving to 126 lbs after this fight. Contract is $19 million from the Saudi.

[cryptomaniac_xxx]

^ I was not aware that Inoue has signed with the HE Turki as a brand ambassador. So he had like the best of the best right now, Usyk, Crawford, Beterbiev and Bivol and now Inoue. And with that, he might be fighting in Saudi more than the US obviously.

But maybe we might see him at least once for this year to fight in the US soil against a 126 lbs fighter if he decided to really move up in weight class.

And at $19M, that is a huge paycheck already for Inoue and could be the biggest for him.

[goldkingcoiner]

I am not too invested in the world of sponserships. What would the Inoue fans say?

Is this a good or a bad development? I understand the Saudis have a lot of money but they also use it for vain things, mostly.

Is this really going to help Inoues career? 

[Maslate]

^ I was not aware that Inoue has signed with the HE Turki as a brand ambassador. So he had like the best of the best right now, Usyk, Crawford, Beterbiev and Bivol and now Inoue. And with that, he might be fighting in Saudi more than the US obviously.

But maybe we might see him at least once for this year to fight in the US soil against a 126 lbs fighter if he decided to really move up in weight class.

And at $19M, that is a huge paycheck already for Inoue and could be the biggest for him.

We all know Saudi has been hosting big fights lately, so this could be the solution to our frustration with Inoue fighting boxers who aren’t on his level. If he moves up to a higher division, we might finally see some excitement, especially with Inoue as the challenger. Since this news is already making the rounds, it feels like his upcoming fight might be his last in this division. Let’s hope that’s the case, it’s about time we see him take on even bigger challenges.

Is this really going to help Inoues career? 

Definitely, as that would take him out of his comfort zone which he is just fighting in Japan.

[FinneysTrueVision]

I very much agree and the boxing news media and writers should create a storyline that Naoya Inoue is very much afraid to take a risk against better boxers in his weight division. I was not very excited on this Sam Goodman already, This boxer from Korea has very much decreased the expectation and has increased the disappointment. If his next fights on featherweight does not include Brandon Figueroa because he will avoid another risk, I reckon we are witnessing this Inoue is becoming very much similar to the scammer Tank Davis.

In any case, Brandon Figueroa will fight Stephen Fulton on a rematch. I wish this will be a knockout for Brandon Figueroa and Inoue will witness this.

You could argue that Figueroa was robbed in the first fight against Fulton, but still he is far less accomplished than Akhmadaliev, Nakatani, or Bam Rodriguez. Nakatani and Rodriguez are both top pound for pound fighters and a fight against either of them would be much bigger than fighting Figueroa. It would be better to prioritize those opponents, but there has not been much urgency for them to move up to Inoue’s weight and so everyone is just wasting time on showcase fights.

[Dave1]

But now Arum said that Inoue is willing to fight again in the US or any place outside of his country.

only happens if he finally decide to move up.

He will have no choice though, in my opinion. There are no more fighters that will make his championship belt worth at 122 lbs as he almost clean up that division already. And there are a lot of reports already telling us that Inoue will go to featherweight after this fight.

And yes, he had a signed contract with the Saudi and so the plan is to bring him in Saudi and then also in the USA. And all the champion at 126 lbs are fighting in the US so it make sense for him that if he wanted to move up then he should be facing in the biggest stage and that is in the USA or in Middle East.

[Yaunfitda]

I am not too invested in the world of sponserships. What would the Inoue fans say?

Is this a good or a bad development? I understand the Saudis have a lot of money but they also use it for vain things, mostly.

Is this really going to help Inoues career? 

It's a good move, everyone is jumping on the bandwagon of the Saudi's as they have a lot of money to offer and they are picking like the best to be their ambassador. And with that getting Inoue, he will be paid as reported to close to $20 million. So that is a huge amount for a boxer already and so he jump and sign the contract right away. As far as his career goes, he could be one of the best in this generation, he has been a two time undisputed champion at 118 lbs and 122 lbs. So just imagine if he can accomplished it again at 126 lbs as it was Bob Arum's plan to move up in weight class. So not just that he will cemented his legacy from joining the Saudi's, he will get a lot of money and will be exposed to boxing fans. So it's a win-win situation for him.