Naoya Inoue Halts TJ Doheny In 7th Round, Retains RING/Undisputed 122-Pound Championship

03/09/2024 13:23

Naoya Inoue continues to find new ways to win.

It was an injury stoppage this time around, as he forced TJ Doheny to concede early in the seventh round. A combination forced Doheny’s leg to give out as he limped away in pain. Referee Bence Kovacs waved off the contest at 0:28 of the seventh round Tuesday at Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan.

Inoue (27-0, 24 knockouts) retained his RING and undisputed 122-pound championship with the win in their ESPN+ main event.

Action was slow out the gate. Both fighters pawed with their jab in the first round. Inoue constantly tapped the right glove of Doheny (26-5, 20 KOs) with his left. Neither fighter landed anything of consequence in the feel-’em out round.

Inoue began to pick up the pace in the second. Doheny was on the defensive but it proved effective as Inoue was not free-flowing with his combinations. The defending champion used constant movement to never allow his southpaw challenger to set up his offense.

Doheny enjoyed success with his straight left hand in the third, his best of the fight to that point. Inoue was still slow moving, relative to the series of explosive performances he has offered through four weight divisions. Doheny looked for opportunities while they were still there during those moments.

Whatever momentum was enjoyed by Doheny quickly shifted back to Inoue in a strong fourth round. Doheny refused to play the role of a +2000 underdog (Inoue was an -6500 favorite entering the fight). He rode out Inoue’s surges and found a home for his left hand both upstairs and to the body. Inoue’s straight right to the body pushed Doheny to the ropes.

A competitive fifth round prompted Inoue to dial up the pressure in the sixth. The swing proved to be the beginning of the end. Doheny’s marked up face continued to redden though he never came close to touching the canvas. Inoue went on the attack and had Doheny hurt on a number of occasions, however.

The seventh round opened with Inoue picking up where he left off in the preceding frame. A right hand was followed by a combination, including a left hook to the body that caused Doheny’s right leg to twist. He immediately turned away and signaled to the ref his unexpected injury before he took a knee. The fight was immediately waved off at that point.

However anticlimactic, it still goes down as a win.

Inoue is now 21-0 in true title fights, plus two first-round knockouts in his brief stay as a secondary WBA bantamweight titlist. The stoppage was his ninth in a row, including a perfect 4-0 (4 KOs) at 122.

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