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.

The longshot challenger is a +1700 underdog according to DraftKings Sportsbook, which lists Inoue (28-0, 25 KOs) at -5000 to retain The Ring/undisputed 122-pound championship. Those numbers are in line with the late-arranged assignment, as Kim replaced an injured Sam Goodman (19-0, 8 KOs), The Ring’s No. 3 junior featherweight contender, on just eleven days’ notice.

Now go ahead and ask him if he is the least bit phased by that scenario.

“I’m different from all the boxers he fought before me,” Kim insisted in an interview recorded by Top Rank, Inoue’s co-promoter along with Ohashi Promotions. “It’s my time, I’ll crush him.”

Inoue-Kim will take place this Friday at Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan. Their scheduled twelve-round championship clash will air live on Lemino Pay-Per-View in Japan and ESPN+ in the U.S. beginning at 4:15 a.m. ET and 6:15 p.m. PT.

Kim (21-2-2, 13 KOs), unranked by The Ring, was in training for a fight against the Philippines’ Kenny Demecillo (17-8-2, 10 KOs) but was always the stand-by opponent in the event Australia’s Goodman—who already postponed the fight from its original Dec. 24 date due to a cut over his left eye—once again withdrew from the fight, which turned out to be the case.

The fact that he was penciled in for another opponent mattered little to Kim, who always dreamed of a showdown with The Ring’s No. 2 pound-for-pound fighter.

Still, the chances of obsession becoming a reality caught him off guard. As it should—Kim will enter his first major title fight, while Inoue has been at that level for more than ten years, dating back to his sixth pro fight.

“I was just so surprised,” admitted Kim. “I was running when I got the phone call. They notified me two weeks ago, “You could fight Naoya Inoue.

“I’ve always trained for Inoue. I am always training right. My training is suited towards fighting Inoue.”

Jake Donovan is part of the U.S. team for The Ring. Follow Jake on X and Instagram.