In the seventh round of their fight on Tuesday, Irish challenger TJ Doheny collapsed to his knees and resigned due to what appeared to be a back injury. As a result, Japanese boxing superstar Naoya Inoue continued to hold the undisputed title of world super-bantamweight champion.
After making his way back to his corner in a cautious manner, Doheny displayed his dissatisfaction by uttering a “twinge.” Before that, he was being pummelling by Inoue, who celebrated his technical knockout in a quiet manner in Tokyo. Inoue was the one who was getting the beating. It was his 28th victory in a row that he achieved successfully.
Inoue’s consistent bodywork and pressure started to pay off in the sixth round, and by the time the fight was over, Doheny’s face was carved with the marks of the fight. Inoue’s continuous bodywork and pressure ultimately paid off. The challenger, who was 37 years old at the time, ended up stumbling towards the exit of the ring while his crew propped him up on both sides. He was unable to walk away from the battle.
Through a translation, Inoue made the statement that was being referred to. “This fight did not end how we expected it to,” he stated to reporters. “However, fighting a long career like this, this is a night we might have.”
Inoue continued by saying, “I want to celebrate how TJ Doheny brought the fight into this ring,” which led to the following comment. “I want to celebrate.”
Inoue, who is now 31 years old, competed for his 23rd world title since he won his first one in 2014. He earned an additional one in 2014. At this point, he had fought in Japan for eight consecutive battles.
According to Bob Arum, Inoue’s promoter, a second defence of his championships will take place in Tokyo at the end of the year. Following that, Inoue is scheduled to compete in Las Vegas.
Despite the fact that Inoue is a world champion in four different weight classes—light flyweight, super flyweight, bantamweight, and now super bantamweight—he did not have everything in his favour when he faced Doheny. During the battle, Inoue had a difficult time due to the precise movements and expertise of Doheny.
After hitting a powerful punch to the body and then delivering a left-right combination to Inoue’s head, it is feasible that Doheny could have even won the third round. This is something that may have been possible.
However, as the fourth round went on, he realized that he was unable to escape the ropes, and Inoue eventually eliminated him after steadily wearing down Doheny.
Doheny sustained injuries as a result of Inoue’s bodywork and an overhead right during the sixth round of the fight. During the final moments of the round, it seemed as though he was holding the bottom of his back with his hands. A consequence of the pressure that was being exerted was its occurrence.
Doheny then stated that he was unable to continue the fight after he wriggled out of the way after being subjected to a barrage of strikes. This took place after the seventh round of the fight had been going on for more than sixteen seconds. The Irishman left the ring without completing an interview since it was clear that he was going through a great deal of pain from the situation.