Can Ye Joon Kim upset Nayoa Inoue?

Nothing quite shocks the boxing world than a fighter arriving on a few days notice, ripping up the script, and leaving with a world title.

Many would bet against it happening tomorrow, when late replacement Ye Joon Kim steps in on two weeks’ notice to face undisputed junior featherweight champion Naoya Inoue but stranger things have happened. There are several boxers who have caused chaos on short notice. The pressure is off these fighters when they show up to the arena, everyone expects them to pick up their paycheck, roll over, and be on their way, but sometimes the unthinkable happens.

Whether it’s because the so-called home fighter is expecting an easy night’s work or they just can’t adjust to the new style of opponent, sometimes it is just because the late replacement is far better than anticipated and they show the world just what a real talent can do on short notice.

Andy Ruiz vs. Anthony Joshua

Joshua was flying high back in 2019 and was preparing to take on the brash American Jarrell Miller in his US debut at Madison Square Garden. One month prior, Miller tested positive for performance enhancing drugs and was out of the contest. Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn searched for a credible replacement and Andy Ruiz Jnr offered him his services.

The Mexican was far from body beautiful but that didn’t matter. Ruiz had narrowly missed out on a world title to Joseph Parker in 2016.

Ruiz turned up to Madison Square Garden with only his own team believing he could cause an upset and after Ruiz hit the canvas early in Round 3, even they probably didn’t. The Mexican sprung to his feet and as Joshua moved in to finish the job, Ruiz caught him with a lightning left hook. Joshua hit the canvas and never recovered. After several more trips to the canvas, the fight was stopped in the seventh round.

Humberto Soto vs. Rocky Juarez

Humbero Soto was given two weeks’ notice to replace the injured In-Jin Chi and challenge Rocky Juarez for the WBC interim featherweight title in 2005. Regardless of the short notice Soto took the fight to Juarez and would have been ahead on the cards heading into the final round if it wasn’t for having two points deducted for rabbit punching. Soto then fought his heart out for the three final minutes and took the 12th round on all three scorecards, securing a unanimous decision by the tightest of margins.

Vitali Klitschko vs. Lennox Lewis

In what turned out to be his final bout, Lennox Lewis was training for Kirk Johnson in 2003 but the Canadian pulled out with a chest injury. Vitali Klitschko was the man to get the nod to replace him. The 6ft 7in powerhouse was a stark contrast to the slick 6ft 2ins Johnson and Lewis nearly paid the price.

The pair went toe-to-toe and Klitschko landed big shots on Lewis repeatedly. The Ukrainian was up on the cards but a gruesome cut over his eye caused a premature ending to the contest. Klitschko may have lost, but the former champion had put his name back onto the world scene and Lewis hung up his gloves shortly after.

Steve Robinson vs. John Davison

Back in 1993, Steve Robinson got the call on two days’ notice to face England’s John Davison for the WBO featherweight title. The Welshman had to drop six pounds in 48 hours to make the 126lbs limit but still managed to cause a big upset. Robinson, who was working part time in a shop at the time, beat Davison, went on to make seven defences of his world title before losing to “Prince” Naseem Hamed.

‘Smokin’ Bert Cooper vs. Evander Holyfield

Another heavyweight who came close to dethroning the heavyweight king on short notice was “Smokin” Bert Cooper. The 26-7 Cooper jumped in to replace the injured Francesco Damiani against Evander Holyfield on a few days notice back in 1991.

Cooper was not fancied by anyone to dethrone the unified champion, Holyfield, but put in a performance that is still remembered fondly to this day. Cooper became the first man to drop Holyfield and, in the third round, he hurt the champion, forcing him to hang on to the ropes to keep him up and Mills Lane ruled it a knockdown. The pair went on to trade blows until Holyfield finished the contest in Round 7.

Manny Pacquiao vs. Lehlo Ledwaba

Back in 2001, Lehlo Ledwaba fell victim to the breakout of a superstar.

Manny Pacquiao was relatively unknown outside of his native home of the Philippines and had never boxed outside of Asia. The 32-2 Pacquiao was out training at Freddie Roach’s Wild Card Gym for a few weeks when he was given the opportunity to jump in and fight for Ledwaba’s super bantamweight title. Ledwaba was originally scheduled to face Enrique Sanchez in his seventh defense of his IBF title but an injury to Sanchez meant Ledwaba accepted the challenge of the unknown Pacquiao.

Pacquiao announced himself to the US in style. He took Ledwaba apart in six torrid rounds and showed off his full repertoire of dazzling speed and skills.

Steve Cruz vs. Barry McGuigan

Barry McGuigan was heavily favored to beat late replacement Steve Cruz at Caesars Palace. What was supposed to be a runout turned into the 1986 Fight of The Year. McGuigan was given a tough night’s work against Cruz, but despite being knocked down in Round 10 and being deducted a point in the 12th, he was narrowly ahead on the cards heading into the 15th and final round. Cruz, however, flipped the script and knocked McGuigan down a further two times in the final round and took a narrow unanimous decision victory on the cards in the blistering Las Vegas heat.

Charley ‘Devil’ Green vs. Jose Torres

In 1969, Charley “Devil” Green was given the shortest of notices when he was plucked out of the crowd to replace Jimmy Ralston to take on Jose Torres. Former light heavyweight champion Torres was on the comeback trail but was nearly derailed in a round by the hard hitting Green.

In the closing seconds of the first round, Green dropped Torres heavily but the bell sounded and Torres’ corner jumped into the ring and helped their man to his feet. The referee should have intervened and continued the count, but Torres was instead allowed to recover in his corner. Torres then went on to win the bout with a second-round knockout.