Inoue, Kim and undercard fighters make weight
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On Friday we’ll see Undisputed Super Bantamweight champion Naoya Inoue (28-0, 25) defending his world titles against South Korean challenger Ye Joon Kim (21-2-2, 13) [김예준]. The fight, which is widely regarded as a mismatch though came about at short notice due to IBF Mandatory challenger Sam Goodman (19-0, 8) suffering an injury in training, saw the two men take part in their weigh in on Thursday and both men looked in great condition whilst make the Super Bantamweight limit with no issues.
On the scales both men were 121.75lbs (55.2KG) which is under the limit with some wiggle room.
After making weight Inoue told reporters that he was looking forward to the fight, and that his recovery is different to what he had planned for Goodman. He was also complimentary of Kim, explaining "He's coming at this fight without fear. He has a strong will and he's coming at it." He also spoke about signing with Riyadh Season, and explaining "Just because I've signed doesn't mean big changes, but it's a match I can't afford to lose. It would be great if I can do both Las Vegas and Saudi Arabia.
Notably Inoue's promoter, Hideyuki Ohashi, has worked hard with rebuilding Korean boxing, working with local promoters to put on shows on the Korean peninsula. He has a long history, as both a fighter facing top Korean fighters and as a promoter working with Koreans. Talking about Kim’s role as challenger, he stated "I hope this will be a catalyst for Korean boxing."
Thankfully, given how cursed this show has been with Goodman twice being injured for it, a notable delay and WBO Bantamweight champion Yoshiki Takei (10-0, 8) [武居由樹] needing to be pulled from the show due to injury, all the other fighters involved also made weight. That included Welterweight regional double champion Jin Sasaki (18-1-1, 17) [佐々木尽], who was bang on 147lbs for his bout with Shoki Sakai (29-14-3, 15) [坂井祥紀], who was 146.25lbs.
Japanese Super Bantamweight champion Toshiki Shimomachi (19-1-3, 12) [下町俊貴] was 121.5lbs, as was his challenger Misaki Hirano (11-1, 4) [平野岬], whilst WBO Asia Pacific Minimumweight champion Goki Kobayashi (8-1, 5) [小林豪己] was on the limit, at 105lbs, as he takes on former Japanese national champion Yuni Takada (15-8-3, 6) [高田勇仁], 104.75lbs.
In a mouth watering non title bout between Japanese Super Featherweight champion Tsubasa Narai (14-2, 10) [奈良井翼] and OPBF Super Featherweight champion Kai Watanabe (13-1-1, 7) [渡邊海], who are fighting at 60KG’s (around 132.3lbs), Narai came in bang on the limit, whilst Watanabe was 100g’s under the contracted weight.
On the scales both men were 121.75lbs (55.2KG) which is under the limit with some wiggle room.
After making weight Inoue told reporters that he was looking forward to the fight, and that his recovery is different to what he had planned for Goodman. He was also complimentary of Kim, explaining "He's coming at this fight without fear. He has a strong will and he's coming at it." He also spoke about signing with Riyadh Season, and explaining "Just because I've signed doesn't mean big changes, but it's a match I can't afford to lose. It would be great if I can do both Las Vegas and Saudi Arabia.
Notably Inoue's promoter, Hideyuki Ohashi, has worked hard with rebuilding Korean boxing, working with local promoters to put on shows on the Korean peninsula. He has a long history, as both a fighter facing top Korean fighters and as a promoter working with Koreans. Talking about Kim’s role as challenger, he stated "I hope this will be a catalyst for Korean boxing."
Thankfully, given how cursed this show has been with Goodman twice being injured for it, a notable delay and WBO Bantamweight champion Yoshiki Takei (10-0, 8) [武居由樹] needing to be pulled from the show due to injury, all the other fighters involved also made weight. That included Welterweight regional double champion Jin Sasaki (18-1-1, 17) [佐々木尽], who was bang on 147lbs for his bout with Shoki Sakai (29-14-3, 15) [坂井祥紀], who was 146.25lbs.
Japanese Super Bantamweight champion Toshiki Shimomachi (19-1-3, 12) [下町俊貴] was 121.5lbs, as was his challenger Misaki Hirano (11-1, 4) [平野岬], whilst WBO Asia Pacific Minimumweight champion Goki Kobayashi (8-1, 5) [小林豪己] was on the limit, at 105lbs, as he takes on former Japanese national champion Yuni Takada (15-8-3, 6) [高田勇仁], 104.75lbs.
In a mouth watering non title bout between Japanese Super Featherweight champion Tsubasa Narai (14-2, 10) [奈良井翼] and OPBF Super Featherweight champion Kai Watanabe (13-1-1, 7) [渡邊海], who are fighting at 60KG’s (around 132.3lbs), Narai came in bang on the limit, whilst Watanabe was 100g’s under the contracted weight.