The trickery of dreams or the first step towards a new destiny? That was the first question that boxing manager and advisor Mike Altamura had to ask himself in the very early hours of Saturday morning. As his sleep-deprived eyes began to exit their hazy state, he quickly realized that the latter scenario was at play.
Holidaying in Nairobi, Kenya, the Australian was unaware of the events transpiring in his homeland. Just a few hours north of his native Melbourne, Wollongong super bantamweight Sam Goodman’s (19-0, 8 KOs) life had just turned upside-down. The cut that had forced his withdrawal from a December showdown in Tokyo with undisputed champion Naoya Inoue (28-0, 25 KOs) had just opened back up, meaning the contest, rescheduled for January 24, was now off. Needing to keep his event alive, legendary Japanese promoter Akihiko Honda needed to make a call. It was at this point that the light flashing from his phone interrupted the darkness of Altamura’s African abode.
“I rolled into bed at 1:58 am, well that’s the last time I actually stared at the clock, and at 2:03 am, the phone started flashing,” he told FightsATW. “I wasn’t sure if I was actually in a dream state or if it was being imagined, but I saw the Japanese number and of course, it was Mr. Honda calling to inform us that Goodman had pulled out.”
Three and a half weeks prior, on December 15, the pair had met in Osaka on the morning of Altamura client Ryosuke Nishida’s (10-0, 2 KOs) first IBF bantamweight title defense in preparation for this exact situation. Should anything unfortunate happen to Goodman again, the feeling between both men was that a contingency plan might come in handy. Here, the name of WBO Asian title holder and number 11 contender Ye Joon Kim (21-2-2, 13 KOs) was first suggested.
The pitch to have the 31-year-old Korean compete in an eight-round undercard bout as insurance for the main event, while met with initial apprehension, ultimately got the green light. As fate would have it, the contest with Filipino Kenny Demecillo (17-8-2, 10 KOs) would not be needed. Instead, a golden opportunity reared its head.
“I floated to him (Mr. Honda) that it would be a smart concept,” Altamura recalled. “He just kind of heard it out; he didn’t say much of anything. Then a week later, I got a call from him that they were prepared to do it. They wanted to place him in an eight-rounder and we were going to be in that holding position if anything were to happen to Goodman.
“We weren’t sure of how everything would play out. If it was five or six days out, I would have been adamant we were replacing Goodman as the opponent, but we just weren’t sure if there was going to be a slight delay or a bit of an adjustment. We were extraordinarily grateful when the suggestion came through that they were going to hold to that date and we’re now landing in the main event against ‘The Monster.’ It’s a blessing, a once-in-a-lifetime blessing.”
🥊 ANNOUNCED: Naoya Inoue will now defend his undisputed WBA, WBC, IBF & WBO super-bantamweight world titles vs Ye Joon Kim on Jan 24th in Tokyo after the Sam Goodman fight was cancelled.
— Ring Magazine (@ringmagazine) January 11, 2025
Joining forces with Kim in a co-managerial capacity two fights ago, Altamura came to ‘The Troublemaker’ at a low point in the fighter’s career. Having just lost to American Rob Diezel (15-10, 4 KOs), a disputed contest but a loss no less, questions began to arise. Still, the potential on display created intrigue. Since becoming part of Brisbane’s United Fight Team in 2022, Kim has showcased strengths in the realms of counter and volume punching and an ability to adapt to whichever direction a fight may head. The evidence on display was more than enough for the manager and his self-confessed love of underdogs and down-and-out combatants.
“He can go to war and can go to the trenches, but he’s equally as comfortable just sitting inside and picking his shots, timing in between punches. He’s not an easy nut to crack stylistically when he’s on his game,” Altamura surmised.
“I felt if Joon could get back to what he did best, which is being a volume punching machine with precise counters, he could be highly competitive at the elite level, but we needed to see what was there. I’ve been thoroughly impressed with the last two performances. I’ve always believed, even prior to working with him, he possessed the capacity to pull off some significant upsets.”
Triumph over Inoue would be more than a ‘significant upset,’ however. Put simply, Altamura, like a vast majority of boxing fans across the globe, believes it would be the biggest in the history of the sport. Already faced with a challenge akin to that of scaling Everest in front of them, the task is made all the more difficult by the caveat of just two weeks’ notice. Still, Kim is ready to not just start climbing, but to leave part of himself on the mountain in pursuit of the summit.
“This is absolutely our blessing. We’re coming to grab it with both hands and we’re going to be exceptionally well prepared because we were already in preparation to be on the show. Joon is going to be coming there to give it his absolute all. He’s 7-0 against Japanese opponents, so there’s a little bit of a narrative there. He wants to be the first one to stop him in his tracks. I think a lot of people are going to underestimate Joon and I’m looking forward to it because they’re going to be in for a bit of a surprise on January 24,” Altamura concluded.
“We’re saying this is going to be the biggest upset in boxing history. You can’t tell me that ‘Buster’ Douglas over Tyson was a greater upset than what this will be. Can you just imagine the moment? Imagine how shell-shocked fight fans will be around the world.
“The one thing I can say is that we’re coming to give it a red-hot crack. He’ll be there to give it his absolute all. He’s going to go into that ring, believing in himself and realizing that just like everybody else he’s ever faced, Inoue has two arms, two legs, one heart, one mind and he’s going to be ready to wage war. May the better man win.”
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