Here's all you need to know ahead of Naoya Inoue's undisputed junior featherweight title defense against late replacement Ye Joon Kim on Friday.

Japanese fighter Naoya Inoue (28-0, 25 KOs) is considered by many to be the best pound-for-pound boxer in the world and on Friday, January 24, he will headline the first major card

The Naoya Inoue vs. Ye Joon Kim fight will be contested for the Japanese star's undisputed super bantamweight title. While South Korea's Kim is a serviceable boxer, this matchup is regarded as little more than a showcase for Inoue. At 28-0, Inoue is an undefeated sensation.

Korean challenger Ye Joon Kim is a huge underdog as he steps in as a late replacement to take on the pound-for-pound phenomenon Naoya Inoue.

The new year has a growing number of events set for the first few months. Many of the sport's biggest names already have fights on the 2025 calendar, including several members of the pound-for-pound elite.

Inoue had been scheduled to defend against Sam Goodman, but he suffered an injury in camp and had to be replaced by Kim. For fans outside of Australia, Kim and Goodman are interchangeable. No difference.

The odds are firmly stacked (to say the least) against Kim, who has won his last two fights against Rakesh Lohchab and John Basan after losing a decision against Rob Diezel in America in April 2023 - his first defeat for more than a decade.

Naoya Inoue, ESPN's No. 3 pound-for-pound boxer, will help usher in the 2025 title fight slate with his third defense of the undisputed 122-pound championship early Friday in Tokyo (ESPN+, 4:15 a.m. ET).