Former world champion TJ ‘The Power’ Doheny 22-2 (16) has questioned the ability of Michael Conlan 15-0 (8) to make the 122-pound weight limit ahead of their 12-round super bantamweight clash at Falls Park in Belfast, Northern Ireland on Friday night.
Conlan has fought almost exclusively at featherweight since turning professional four years ago. His last bout against Romanian Ionut Baluta was fought at the super bantamweight in April, a fight he won by 12-round majority decision. Doheny dropped an eight-round points decision to Baluta in March last year in his last outing in Dubai.
Irish-born Doheny, who fights out of Sydney, Australia, will be fighting in Ireland for the first time in his pro career. But he is no stranger to boxing on the road. The 34-year-old southpaw won the IBF super bantamweight title from Ryosuke Iwasa in Japan in 2018 and defended the belt once against Ryohei Takahashi at New York’s famed Madison Square Garden the following year.
Doheny lost his belt in a unification bout against then-WBA champion Danny Roman in Los Angeles by majority decision in April 2019. Only one of his last 10 bouts had taken place in his adopted country of Australia.
It is this experience that Doheny says he will draw on to secure the victory against the popular hometown boxer.
“The fight was agreed upon before I even started by camp to be 10 rounds at super bantamweight. He’s running down from 126lbs to 122lbs and can’t even make the weight,” Doheny said at the final press conference.
“I’m coming here as the away fighter and everyone keeps mentioning that, but the best performances of my career seem to be when I am the away fighter. You see that with the shifts I’ve put in.
“I got the world title in Japan and then fought Roman and a lot of people thought I won that fight. Conlan won’t be fazed by the crowd on Friday and I’m excited to fight in front of the Belfast crowd.
“They’re the most passionate fans in the world and I’d love to have a city like that behind me. I’m a bit of a road warrior and I keep upsetting the odds.”
Conlan, 29, accused Doheny of losing his nerve before the fight.
“Stop bottling it. Are you going to walk away? No, so the fight is happening. I’ll box the ears off you on Friday night,” he said.
“I’m the better fighter and I’ll be victorious. No matter what he tries to bring, I’ll be the one getting my hand raised on Friday night.
“I can’t wait to be back in Belfast. I don’t think there was a better atmosphere in Ireland all year round than when we fought here in 2019 and it’s going to be special again this week.”
