September 03, (THEWILL) – Naoya Inoue, the undisputed super-bantamweight world champion, successfully defended his titles by defeating Ireland’s TJ Doheny in Tokyo on Tuesday.
The bout concluded in the seventh round when Doheny was unable to continue after sustaining a hip injury, following a series of powerful body shots from Inoue, also known as “Monster”. With this victory, Inoue improved his professional record to 28 wins and no losses, with 25 of those victories coming by knockout.
This fight marked Inoue’s second defence since he became the undisputed champion in December 2023. He has now become only the second boxer in the four-belt era to hold undisputed titles in two different weight classes, following American Terence Crawford. Inoue’s previous fight against Luis Nery in May was notable as he was knocked down for the first time in his career, but he remained composed during his latest match against Doheny.
Inoue had to adopt a patient strategy against Doheny, who fought cautiously throughout the match. As the rounds progressed, Inoue began to connect with significant body shots, demonstrating his ability to adapt to his opponent’s style. The fight took a sudden turn when Doheny appeared to injure his hip shortly after the seventh round began, leading to his withdrawal from the contest.
Doheny, who previously held the IBF super-bantamweight title from 2018 to 2019, saw his record fall to 26 wins and 5 losses, with 20 knockouts. The injury ended his chance to reclaim a title, and he required assistance from his team to leave the ring. His performance had been steady, but it was not enough to overcome Inoue’s relentless attack.
On the undercard, Yoshiki Takei retained his WBO world bantamweight title with a unanimous decision victory over fellow Japanese fighter, Daigo Higa. This match marked Takei’s first defence of the title, which he secured from Australia’s Jason Moloney in May.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
