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 was supposed to face Sam Goodman last month. Instead, he will defend his belts on Friday against Kim Ye-joon, who stepped in after Goodman was injured in training.

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.

Over time, Naoya Inoue's fights have turned into must-see bouts that the "Monster" often turns into additions of his already-electric highlight reel.

Tsubasa Narai (14-2-0, 10 KOs) clashes with Kai Watanabe (13-1-1, 7 KOs) in a 10-round lightweight bout. Coverage begins Friday at 4:15 a.m. ET on ESPN+. Fans can catch all the action in the fight card's streaming hub. Check out the ESPN boxing hub page for the latest news, schedules, rankings and more.

Inoue vs Kim is scheduled to take place on Friday 24 January, at the Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan. The undercard is due to begin at approximately 8am GMT (12am PT / 2am CT / 3am ET), with main-event ring walks expected at around 11am GMT (3am PT / 5am CT / 6am ET).