Naoya Inoue, arguably the best pound-for-pound fighter in boxing, returns to action on Tuesday when he defends his undisputed junior featherweight title against TJ Doheny. The fight will take place from Tokyo’s Ariake Arena. The bout will be Inoue’s second defense as undisputed champion at 122 pounds, as well as his first since stopping Luis Neri in May.
Junior featherweight is the fourth division in which Inoue has won world championship gold, the second division in which Inoue has held four recognized world championships simultaneously to become undisputed. Inoue’s first undisputed run came at bantamweight, where he last defeated Paul Butler to add the WBO titles to his WBC, WBA and IBF belts.
Any questions about how Inoue would handle the move up to junior featherweight were answered immediately in his first fight at the weight, Inoue taking on Stephen Fulton to capture the WBC and WBO championships in July 2023. Fulton was seen as a top contender. 10 pound-for-pound list but he was overwhelmed by Inoue’s relentless attack.
Inoue later defeated Marlon Tapless to add the IBF and WBA titles and become the undisputed champion. He will make his first defense of his undisputed position against Luis Neri in May. Neri became the first man to knock Ino out but Ino otherwise dominated the fight en route to a sixth-round knockout.
Doheny is a former IBF champion at 122 pounds, and a familiar name to Japanese boxing fans. The Irish fighter won his only world championship from Ryosuke Iwasa in Tokyo in 2018 and held it against Ryohei Takahashi before stripping Daniel Roman of the title in 2019.
The loss to Roman was the start of a 2-4 run for Doheny after winning the first 21 fights of his professional career. Since that rough patch, Doheny has reeled off three straight wins. All three of those wins came in Tokyo, making him an interesting choice for Inoue.
The frequent fights in Tokyo also explain why Eno and his team pursued a low-risk fight with Doheny instead of facing Murodjan Akhmadalev, who the WBA has already ordered him to face. Despite Inoue not following the WBA order, he faced no disciplinary action and will defend the WBA title along with three others on Tuesday.
The undercard features some interesting fights, with WBO bantamweight champion Yoshiki Taki taking on former flyweight champion Daigo Higa and interim WBA super lightweight champion Ismael Barroso taking on Andy Hiraoka.
Inoue vs. Doheny fight card, odds
- Naoya Inoue (c)-5000 vs. TJ Doheny +1700, Undisputed Junior Featherweight Title
- Yoshiki Taki (c)-400 vs. Daigo Higa +295, WBO Bantamweight Title
- Ismael Barroso (IC) vs. Andy Hiraoka, WBA Interim Junior Welterweight Title
- Gene Sasaki vs. Kamil Balla, welterweights
- Toshiki Shimomachi vs. Ryuya Sugawa, junior featherweights
Viewing information
Date: September 3 Start Time: 5:45 am ET (main card)
Location: Ariake Arena – Tokyo
TV Channels: ESPN+
prediction
Boxing can be an unpredictable sport, but it’s no more predictable than Inoue vs. Doheny. That’s why Inoue is a -5000 favorite coming into the fight. Doheny has lost to far worse fighters than Inoue, and Inoue has not only never been defeated, but he’s also earned stoppages in 24 of his 27 professional fights, many of them against better fighters than Doheny.
The fight was made because Doheny had done enough to become a credible opponent while becoming a household name in Japan. It would be a nice payday for him, but Inoue could probably end the fight the second he feels like stepping on the gas. Pick: Naoya Inoue via KO3
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