Watching Naoya Inoue without a match is watching Aretha doing a vocal warm-up, or Hendrix singing guitar, or Dylan Scribble recalling the dream he had last night at a diner. It should not be confused with experiencing a fighter at his best, but it is still an exciting and enlightening experience that is nonetheless, in many ways, great to watch other boxers in competitive fights.
Indeed, it could be argued that the true mark of a boxer’s greatness lies in their ability to make even mismatches happen. In this case, you know exactly what you’re going to get, what you’re going to get from the favorites and the losers, but it’s fun to be a once-forgivable favorite and accept the predictability in a sport that’s the opposite sex. In this case, it’s not about who wins; it’s about how They win, great fighters always seem to manage to win mismatched ways should win. In other words, they figured it out pretty quickly. They don’t work hard. Even better, they showed a gulf in class between themselves and their opponents, keeping audiences at the forefront of their minds. For them, it’s not a chance to stay safe, but a chance to shine.
Regardless of the division, a long reign will usually feature one or two or even shorter reigns, like Inoue’s, with odd mismatches in the champion’s talent. That dynamic came into play when he stopped Stephen Fulton, who many consider to be his big shot in the super lightweight division in 2023. competitors. We’ve also seen a similar story told in countless other Inoue battles recently.
Recently, we saw the Japanese star indulging herself after undergoing a series of testing tasks. In September, for example, he faced fellow Irishman TJ Doheny, a man with enough guts to spit out defiance but unable to meet much of a threat. Inoue stopped Doheny in seven rounds and was then scheduled to defend his belt against Sam Goodman, only to have Goodman withdraw from the fight instead. Ye Joon Kim took his place.
Kim is a 32-year-old from South Korea who was little known before tonight. He carries a record of 21-2-2 (13) and is ranked 11th by the World Boxing Organization (WBO), but one of his professional championships doesn’t really stand out. Perhaps the funniest thing about him is his nickname: “Pacquiwesser the Numbmaker.”
In the surprise of the night, Kim barely had Inoue. The decision to start the fight as Southpaw was as good as the challenger, but it only prolonged the inevitable. Give it a few rounds and we all know that Inoue, who is hoping Kim can box Orthodox, will figure out Kim and go to work, maybe Inoue struggles with the southpaw because of Kim’s temerity.
The fact that it took Inoue three rounds to defeat Kim proved not only Kim’s intelligence, but also his ambition. Things that look like a mismatch on paper are a mismatch in reality, and it’s very easy to escape a love affair with a bag of money and no reproach at his doorstep. Kim, however, seemed prouder than that. He was tougher than many, and he regularly traded shots with Inoue, landing a decent left cross in the second round and an equally impressive punch in the third. He even waves to Inoue whenever Inoue hurts him. First, in the third round, there were two hooks – a left hook and a right hook – and then in the fourth round, Kim asked for more and a, and he got more than he bargained for.
It was in that round, the fourth round, that everything clicked inoue and it became more difficult for Kim. With everything figured out, Inoue began a round of jabs with a variety of right and left hooks, finishing with an invitation that was too good to refuse.
At this point, Kim found herself on the ropes, as confused as hurt. His tricks have been tried, his punches have been thrown, and all he has left in the fourth round is his ability to deceive and endure pain. He tries to put on the best show possible, but it soon becomes apparent that Inoue isn’t the type to feel sorry for his opponents, or is distracted by their efforts to engage him in some kind of mind game. Instead, Inoue reads the signal which should always be read. He calls them “distress signals” and knows that when opponents claim they are not harmed, or even demand more, the opposite is often true. So, attacking King as if angry at his slight, he nailed him with a clean jab-cross combination that sent King flying toward the ropes and then down to the canvas. That’s when referee Mark Nelson swooped in and, more importantly, saved him – both from Inoue and himself.
As publicized and expected, Inoue’s demolition of Kim in Tokyo will now be remembered as a mismatch. However, this still shouldn’t detract from the spectacle overall. In fact, the fight itself, while over quickly, was entertaining to watch as long as it lasted, thanks in large part to Kim Jong-il’s unwillingness to accept that he marked a mismatch in everyone else’s Characters in Stuff. Inoue is also noteworthy for the same intensity and focus we see in his eyes and body movements when playing against opponents intent on testing him. While it’s easy to relax and become complacent in mismatches, Inoue seems to realize that a boxer’s greatness lies in their ability to handle mismatches in an efficient manner as much as their ability to win, which not everyone wants. They can win. It won’t be to the same acclaim, no, but tonight’s victory over King was as significant to Inoue, 29-0 (26), as any other he’s had in his 12-year career. After all, there is no defeat that damages a boxer’s reputation as much as they suffer in an alleged mismatch.
