Naoya Inoue believes there is always work to be done in the ongoing pound-for-pound debate.

The topic isn’t necessarily a focal point in his already incredible career. Still, the four-division and reigning RING/undisputed 122-pound king has been a fixture in The Ring’s top ten best fighter list for eight consecutive years and among the top four since 2019.

For the moment, Inoue (28-0, 25 KOs) is second only to Oleksandr Usyk (23-0, 14 KOs), a two-division RING and undisputed champion and current heavyweight king. Fittingly, Inoue (2023) and Usyk (2024) are the two most recent Fighter of the Year recipients.

“Oleksandr Usyk is a great fighter, no question,” Inoue told The Ring. “We will obviously never fight since we are so far apart in weight, so I don’t really focus on him as much as I would other fighters in and near my division. But yes, for the year he had, he deserves Fighter of the Year.

“As for pound-for-pound, everyone’s opinion is different. How I win will determine where I belong in that conversation.”

It is doubtful that Inoue will change anyone’s opinion on the subject, regardless of his performance against South Korea’s Ye Joon Kim (21-2-2, 13 KOs) this Friday at Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan (Lemino Pay-Per-View/ESPN+, 4:15 a.m. ET/6:15 p.m. JST).

Inoue was originally due to face Australia’s Sam Goodman (19-0, 8 KOs), The Ring’s No. 3 junior featherweight contender. The fight was twice canceled after Goodman suffered and subsequently reopened a cut over his left eye during separate sparring sessions three weeks apart.

A win over Goodman would have been Inoue’s seventh straight over a Ring-rated top ten contender. Kim is unranked by this publication and stepped in on just 13 days’ notice.

Inoue had two separate periods as The Ring’s No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter. He was replaced by Ukraine’s Usyk on both occasions, first in 2022 after two months and again last May after holding the top spot for just two weekly ratings cycles.

Inoue supplanted Terence Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs) last May 6 after his off-the-canvas, sixth-round knockout of former two-division titlist Luis Nery (35-2, 29 KOs). Usyk reclaimed the mythical crown after the first of two wins over Tyson Fury (34-2-1, 24 KOs). The unbeaten southpaw became the first undisputed heavyweight champion in nearly 25 years with a May 18 split decision victory.

Usyk added another win over Fury last Dec. 21 to cement his place as the best heavyweight in the world and also as 2024’s Fighter of the Year.

Inoue has beaten TJ Doheny (26-5, 20 KOs), The Ring’s No. 7 122-pound contender, in his lone fight during that stretch. A dominant enough win over Goodman would have been his best shot at once again trading places with Usyk.

Chances are, the balance of his 2025 campaign—targeted fights with Alan David Picasso (31-0-1, 17 KOs) and Murodjon ‘MJ’ Akhmadaliev (13-1, 10 KOs)—will present his strongest argument.

“Obviously, who we fight and how we perform will influence how [fans and media] judge us in that sense,” acknowledged Inoue. “Fighting at my weight, we’re limited to who is available to fight. So, I have to overwhelm my opponents to influence those opinions."