Undisputed super bantamweight champion Naoya ‘Monster’ Inoue 27-0 (24) will defend his belts against TJ ‘The Power’ Doheny 26-4 (20) at Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan on September 3.
The 31-year-old Inoue was last in action in May when he climbed off the canvas to stop Mexican southpaw Luis Nery 35-2 (27) in six heats at the 55,000 seat Tokyo Dome, the same venue where Buster Douglas upset Mike Tyson for the undisputed heavyweight championship of the world 24 years ago.
The expectation was that Inoue would face WBA mandatory Murodjon Akhmadaliev 12-1 (9) or IBF and WBO mandatory Sam Goodman 19-0 (8) next, but he has opted for a voluntary defence of his 122-pound titles instead.
“Being able to fight at the Tokyo Dome was a special match for me in my career as a boxer, and I feel that I have surpass that performance with this next fight,” Inoue said.
“Doheny has had some really good fights recently and I don’t want to take my eye off the ball,” Inoue said.
“He has knocked out boxers who I have sparred with and he can produce the goods in his fights.”
Japan has been a happy hunting ground for Doheny. The 37-year-old Irish southpaw, who boxes out of Australia, won the IBF super bantamweight title against Ryosuke Iwasa 28-5 (18) at Tokyo’s world-renowned Korakuen Hall in August 2018.
Doheny’s last three bouts have all taken place in Japan. Kazuki Nakajima 15-2-1 (12), Japhethlee Llamido 12-1 (4) and Bryl Bayogos 7-1-1 (2) all fell in less that four.
It’s been a remarkable turn of fortune for Doheny, who was widely thought to be done at the top level after his wide 10-round decision loss to Australia’s Goodman in March last year.
Inoue’s American co-promoter Bob Arum says he expects Doheny to provide a stern challenge.
“Naoya Inoue is a generational talent, and every time he fights, the boxing world stops to watch the master at work,” the Top Rank chief said.
“TJ Doheny is a veteran who can never be counted out, as he’s defied the odds many times when fighting in Japan.”
But not everyone is excited about the matchup. Eddie Hearn, who promotes Akhmadaliev, voiced his disappointment at the fight.
“Gutted, devastated, disappointing for boxing. Disappointing for Japan,” the Matchroom Boxing boss told BoxNation.
“If I hadn’t worked with TJ Doheny five or six years ago I would really go in on this fight. But I don’t want to disrespect TJ because he’s a nice guy.”
Hearn continue: “It’s a horrific mismatch. I don’t understand why, for some reason, Team Inoue and Mr Honda and everyone, I know for a fact, they don’t like the Akhmadaliev fight.
“I don’t understand that you’ve got a pound-for-pound arguably number one, who has the opportunity to fight his mandatory.
“I wouldn’t expect him to pick Akhmadaliev in a voluntary… It’s hard to say Inoue is ducking Akhmadaliev, but he actually is.”
