Ye Joon Kim has no doubt in his mind that his perfect record versus Japanese boxers will remain intact.

At the very least, he has vowed to provide a tougher challenge than the fighter previously expected to face The Ring/undisputed junior featherweight champion Naoya Inoue.

“You can expect much more from me than from Sam Goodman,” Kim vowed during a training camp video filmed by Lemino. “Inoue has never faced a fighter like me in his career.”

Yokohama’s Inoue (28-0, 25 KOs) will defend his RING/WBC/WBA/IBF/WBO championship against South Korea’s Kim (21-2-2, 13 KOs) this Friday from Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan. Lemino will regionally distribute the pay-per-view event, while ESPN+ will carry the show in the U.S.

Kim is a perfect 7-0 against fighters from Japan, while Inoue faces his first challenger from South Korea. Still, Inoue has nearly as many primary and secondary title fights (23) as Kim has overall ring appearances (25).

The quantum leap in competition is not at all lost on Kim, who entered the mix when Australia’s Sam Goodman (19-0, 8 KOs) was forced to withdraw for the second time in three weeks. The Ring’s No. 3 junior featherweight contender twice suffered a cut over his left eye during training camp within that span.

Goodman’s first injury was expected to heal quick enough to where all parties agreed to a one-month delay from the original Dec. 24 date. Ohashi Promotions, Inoue’s career-long promoter, took out an insurance policy for the rescheduled card.

As previously reported by The Ring, Kim was due to face the Philippines’ Kenny Demecillo but with the expectation that he would enter the championship mix if (and when) Goodman was once again unavailable.

The request to step in was officially made on Jan. 11, just thirteen days out from fight night. Kim made a point well before that to stay ready to avoid having to get ready.

“I have patterned all of my training for Inoue,” Kim noted of always keeping one eye on his divisional king. “I have to match his tempo, so I have to do a lot of additional training, which has made me even stronger.”

Among other areas where he’s stepped up his preparation, Kim has logged several training camp rounds with Jason Moloney (27-3, 19 KOs), The Ring’s No. 7 bantamweight and a former WBO 118-pound titlist. Inoue defeated Moloney via seventh-round knockout in an Oct. 2020 WBA/IBF bantamweight title defense in Las Vegas, Nevada.

“The more I do in camp, the closer I get to my goal,” insisted Kim, "I’m almost there now. I’m not completely there, so I have to aim strategically for the win.”

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