A new opponent was named for Naoya Inoue’s next championship defense.

South Korea’s Ye Joon Kim was elevated from standby status to main attraction as the next challenger for Inoue’s RING/undisputed junior featherweight championship. Ohashi Promotions confirmed the replacement during an emergency press conference held Saturday afternoon local time in Yokohama, Japan.

The quick swap allowed the Lemino Pay-Per-View/ESPN+ headliner to remain on course for Jan. 24 at Ariake Arena in Tokyo.

Kim (21-2-2, 13 KOs) was brought in hours after Australia’s Sam Goodman (19-0, 8 KOs) was forced to withdraw for the second time in three weeks. The same injury felled The Ring No. 3 junior featherweight contender—a re-opened cut suffered during a recent training session.

Goodman was previously due to challenge Inoue (28-0, 25 KOs)—The Ring No. 2 pound-for-pound fighter—on Dec. 24. That event was postponed by exactly one month after he suffered a cut during his final sparring session before he was due to fly to Tokyo.

Inoue and Ohashi Promotions agreed to postpone the show, rather than move on without Goodman.

That luxury was not available this time around, nor will Goodman be in a position to re-enter the mix anytime soon. No Limit Boxing confirmed to The Ring that the unbeaten contender will undergo plastic surgery which will leave him sidelined until early summer.

Kim’s value as a selected opponent was that he was already in place to fight. The 32-year-old Seoul brother was due to face the Philippines’ Kenny Demecillo (17-8-2, 10 KOs), with the understanding that he was the “break glass in case of emergency” option for this event.

A modest two-fight win streak accompanies Kim’s first career title fight, as he takes a massive leap in competition. The well-traveled twelve-year pro will fight in his sixth country in as many fights but never anything beyond the fringe contender level.

Meanwhile, Inoue enters his 22nd career major title fight (plus two secondary title fights) spanning four weight divisions.

The Ring 2023 Fighter of the Year won the WBC junior flyweight title in just his sixth pro bout and has served among the sport’s very best ever since. He went on to win the WBO junior bantamweight title before his move to bantamweight, where he fully unified the division and claimed The Ring championship.

Inoue went on to do the same at junior featherweight, in just his first two fights at the new weight. Both came in his 2023 Fighter of the Year run in knockout wins over unified titlists Stephen Fulton (21-0, 8 KOs at the time) and Marlon Tapales (37-3, 23 KOs at the time).

Had the fight with Goodman held its original Dec. 24 date, Inoue would have enjoyed a three-bout 2024 campaign—his first since 2017.

That plan is now in place for 2025, which made it crucial to preserve the Jan. 24 date. With a win, Inoue confirmed to The Ring earlier this week of his intention to fight in the U.S. later this spring. The likely opponent will be Alan David Picasso (31-0-1, 17 KOs), The Ring No. 5 junior featherweight and his WBC mandatory challenger.