Ring Ratings Analysis Through fights of January 25, 2025 • By Brian Harty
POUND FOR POUND: This was an exceptionally slow month for Ring-rated fighters, but P4P No. 2 Naoya Inoue made a welcome appearance on January 24 against Ye Joon Kim in Tokyo. A victory for Kim, who stepped in on short notice to replace a re- injured Sam Goodman, would’ve been an easy contender for upset of the decade, but we’d be happy to watch The Monster tune up a ukulele if it gives us a chance to see him in action. The 15,000 fans at Ariake Arena seemed to agree, and Inoue extended their viewing experience by letting Kim land some shots in what he later said was a strategy to gauge the South Korean’s power. Possibly encouraged by that or maybe even annoyed that Inoue didn’t seem to be trying hard enough, Kim doubled down on his brave assignment and gave the universal “come on, hit me” signal with his gloves in the fourth round. Inoue did the universal “OK, pal” thing and knocked Kim flat with a straight right, which is how the fight ended. Next up for The Monster is a highly anticipated return to Las Vegas, where he will almost certainly face undefeated WBC mandatory Alan Picasso, The Ring’s No. 5-rated junior featherweight. For many people outside of Mexico the name won’t trigger anything beyond a flash of “Guernica,” and Matchroom boss Eddie Hearn has accused Inoue of ducking fellow slugger Murodjon Akhmadaliev, but the fight will nonetheless give U.S. fans a rare chance to see the Japanese phenom in person against a top-five fighter. And after that, “MJ” could be on the menu for a fall reservation in Saudi Arabia. CRUISERWEIGHT: Australia’s Jai Opetaia got chin-checked in Round 2 of his homecoming dance with Kiwi challenger David Nyika, but the division champ showed once again that his boxing skills don’t go out the window when he activates his meaner self. Opetaia seems to revel in his mixture of malice and finesse, equally savoring the opportunity to throw quick, bouncy combos from the outside, spike his opponent’s head with a pinpoint uppercut at close range or just swing really hard and try to break something. Nyika received it all, and his second-round momentum gave way
At just 23, Diego Pacheco seems to have a massive reservoir of potential.
to a beatdown that ended in unconsciousness with about 45 seconds to go in the fourth round. With that settled, Opetaia, the Ring/ IBF titleholder, is in place for a tantalizing unification fight with WBA/WBO incumbent Gilberto Ramirez, who might have to get through mandatory challenger Yuniel Dorticos first. A path to the final palisade of the undisputed crown is uncertain, as the WBC’s phobia of a division without a titleholder has somehow led to 41-year-old Badou Jack wearing the green belt despite a layoff of two years and counting. SUPER MIDDLEWEIGHT: Young Diego Pacheco continued his rapid ascent in the ratings, moving from No. 3 to No. 2 and improving his record to 23-0 after a wide decision over unrated but undefeated Steven
Nelson. The 6-foot-4 Pacheco expertly used his height/reach advantages to keep Nelson at the end of his power, made good use of a wicked right uppercut at mid-range and showcased his speed in timing his opponent’s come-forward style. In the final round, he also showed resilience in shrugging off a solid left hook from Nelson, who gave a gutsy performance as stablemate and fellow Nebraskan Terence Crawford cheered him on from ringside. WELTERWEIGHT: Fighting on the Inoue-Kim undercard, Jin Sasaki (No. 9 last month) won a close-quarters battle with Shoki Sakai, notably
Naoya Inoue (left) KO’d Ye Joon Kim to kick off what could be a very busy year.
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