Ye Joon Kim is convinced that it was his destiny to face Naoya Inoue. He is even more convinced of pulling off what would go down as one of the biggest upsets in modern boxing history.

On March 1, Yoenis Tellez will take on former unified world champion Julian “J-Rock” Williams for the interim-WBA super welterweight title. Their bout will be part of the pay-per-view card headlined by a lightweight title showdown between WBA lightweight world champion Gervonta “Tank” Davis and WBA super featherweight world champion Lamont Roach from Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

Ye Joon Kim curbed his bold personality to instead put on his game face after taking to the scale. The longshot challenger modestly flexed his chiseled physique after making weight for his first career title challenge. It comes against one of the best in the world in Naoya Inoue, The Ring’s No. 2 pound-for-pound entrant who was also all business at Thursday’s pre-fight weigh-in.

Former unified champion Stephen Fulton Jr. previewed his much anticipated rematch against WBC Featherweight World Champion Brandon “The Heartbreaker” Figueroa and made it clear that he won’t be "pushed around" when they meet in the co-main event of a PBC Pay-Per-View event on Prime Video Saturday, February 1 from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Naoya Inoue will celebrate his latest alliance in style. Literally. The reigning RING/undisputed junior featherweight champion will sport Riyadh Season branding on his ring attire for Friday’s championship defense against Ye-Joon Kim. It will symbolize Inoue’s role as an ambassador for the movement headed by Turki Alalshikh, head of Riyadh Season and the newest owner of The Ring.

Brian Norman Jr. hopes his rescheduled welterweight title defense leads him back toward the 147-pound championship unification fight he wants. The Ring has learned Norman’s 12-round fight with Derrieck Cuevas has been rescheduled for March 29 in Las Vegas. ESPN will air Norman-Cuevas as promoter Top Rank’s co-feature the night of the WBO women’s welterweight championship rematch between champion Mikaela Mayer and Sandy Ryan at Fontainebleau.

A fight between unified junior middleweight champion Sebastian Fundora and Chordale Booker is “nearly finalized” for March 22 in Las Vegas.

Undefeated super-middleweight and WBO No. 1-ranked contender Diego Pacheco will face fellow undefeated contender Steven Nelson in a 12-round, 168-pound bout, headlining the 2025 Matchroom Boxing and DAZN kickoff fight card in the United States. (photos by Melina Pizano)

Teofimo Lopez Jr. is currently navigating a tumultuous time with promoter Top Rank, but that’s not stopping him from trying to build up super fights that can be made for the future, specifically with Gervonta Davis.

Golden Boy Promotions is set to kick off its 2025 season. Eric Priest and Tyler Howard both came in at career-high weights for their headlining act. Priest (14-0, 8 KOs) weighed 164.2 pounds. Howard (20-2, 11 KOs) checked in at 163.6 pounds. Their scheduled ten-round super middleweight bout will air live on DAZN this Thursday from Commerce Casino in Commerce, California.

Andy Lee insists that the upcoming all-Irish welterweight fight between Lewis Crocker and Paddy Donovan is a much layered affair than the boxer vs. puncher matchup it's being portrayed as. Lee trains his fellow Limerick man Donovan (14-0, 11 KOs), and thinks people are making a big mistake by labelling the heavy-handed Crocker (20-0, 11 KOs) as the bigger puncher of the two.

Liam Smith has returned home—in a promotional sense. Matchroom Boxing confirmed the re-signing of the former WBO junior middleweight titlist to its roster. Smith rejoins younger brother Callum Smith on the Matchroom roster after a three-fight stint with domestic rival outfit BOXXER.

An interesting Liverpool derby has been added to the undercard of Nick Ball’s WBA featherweight title defence against Ireland’s former IBF super bantamweight champion, T.J Doheny. On March 15th, experienced Commonwealth super-flyweight titlist Ryan Farrag (23-5, 6 KOs) will attempt to derail destructive young hope, Jack Turner (10-0, 9 KOs).

There’s nothing wrong with a little confidence but Carlos Adames believes that Erickson Lubin took it overboard. For several months, Lubin made it known that he would love to fight The Ring’s No. 3 ranked middleweight and current WBC champion, despite campaigning one weight class below. Some competition and self-belief isn’t something that Adames (24-1, 18 KOs) has a problem with. The reigning champion is under the assumption that Lubin was using his name for clout and never intended on facing him. His spurious callouts, coupled with what Adames considers a clearly inferior skill set, led to him ripping the American junior middleweight contender.

Angel Fierro idolized Erik Morales while he was an impressionable, young boxer growing up in Tijuana, Morales’ hometown. The Mexican legend’s unforgettable brawl with Marco Antonio Barrera remains in the back of Fierro’s mind as he prepares for what he hopes is his own iconic clash with a countryman. Fierro hopes he makes Morales proud when he faces Isaac Cruz in a 12-round, 140-pound bout on the pay-per-view portion of the David Benavidez-David Morrell Jr. undercard February 1 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

JAI Opetaia isn't your usual world champion. Then again, the foundations that made him unapologetically himself, aren't exactly common either. The same way many laud Oleksandr Usyk as a road warrior, beating fighters across the world on away soil, the Aussie southpaw has relished an opportunity to do similar from his teenage years in the amateur ranks.

Callum Simpson hoped for a hometown headliner in his next outing. He will gladly settle for the alternative plan already in place. The unbeaten super middleweight contender will return on the Feb. 1 Adam Azim-Sergey Lipinets undercard at OVO Arena Wembley in London. Simpson (16-0, 11 KOs) will face Ghana’s Elvis Ahorgah (13-2, 12 KOs) in a scheduled 12-round contest that was finalized on Tuesday.

If boxing fans are eagerly awaiting an expected avalanche of fight announcements, the fighters themselves are just as keen to dot the i’s and cross the t’s on their contracts and get 2025 underway.