In a highly anticipated super bantamweight championship bout at Tokyo’s Ariake Arena, Irish boxer TJ Doheny was defeated by Japan’s Naoya Inoue. The loss came in the seventh round from a technical knockout as Doheny succumbed to a powerful fight hand from Inoue, thus forbidding him from continuing the match. Prior to this, Inoue, who boasts of the WBA, WBC, IBF and WBO titles at 122lbs, had dominated the fight, reinforcing his abilities with unyielding shots and tight combinations.
Earlier in the bout, Inoue had struck Doheny with a substantial body blow and ended the round by landing twelve consecutive shots that cut through Doheny’s defence. This victory extended Inoue’s winning streak to 28 fights, whilst marking the fifth defeat for Doheny. Despite enjoying a successful record of 3-0 against Japanese opponents and an undefeated 4-0 score on Japanese territory, 37-year-old Doheny found Inoue to be a formidable counterpart, with many pundits rating him as the finest pound-for-pound fighter globally.
Looking ahead, promoter Bob Arum has announced that Inoue will participate in one more fight in Japan by the end of this year, before heading to the United States for his initial 2025 fight.