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TJ Doheny: “I need to prove that I’m the same fighter that I was”

TJ Doheny celebrates world title victory over Ryosuke Iwasa in Tokyo, Japan. Source: AFP.

Former IBF super bantamweight champion TJ Doheny 22-2 (16) is ready to bounce back from his shock loss to little-known Romanian Ionut Baluta 13-2 (2) in Dubai in March.

The 33-year-old Australian-based Irishman dropped an eight-round decision to Baluta by scores of 78-74, 78-74 and 77-74.

“It’s all about coming back and winning – winning impressively. A silly loss like that, even if it’s horrible on my record, you can never take it back,” Doheny told iFL TV.

“Just get a win and once I get it, I have to show to them the true calibre of a boxer I am.

“It’s not that I needed to be humbled but that had me thinking. I’ve got to win impressively and show that loss in March is just kind of a speed bump for me.”

The southpaw lost his IBF belt to WBA champion Danny Roman by majority decision in one of the fights of the year in Los Angeles in April last year.

“Everybody knows what I can do. I need to prove that I’m still the same fighter that I was,” Doheny said.

“I just switched off in that fight [against Baluta] and didn’t put in the performance that I can do. I have one hundred percent faith in MTK Global that they can get me back in the mix.

“It’s no secret that they’re one of the best management teams in the world and they know how to help me come back from this kind of thing and re-position me in everything.

“They know how to manoeuvre once the sport comes back.

“I’ve been able to set up a gym in the garage so I’m still able to keep myself in pretty respectable shape.

“I’ve been training more just to keep myself busy, keep the mind occupied from all these things and trying to keep everything good.”