Naoya Inoue wins in bizarre fashion as fight is stopped by his opponent TJ Doheny who decided he could not continue

03/09/2024 13:10

Naoya Inoue’s rival TJ Doheny was forced to retire after suffering an apparent back injury in their fight on Tuesday.

Inoue was defending his undisputed super-bantamweight titles against huge underdog Doheny on home soil at the Ariaka Arena in Tokyo, Japan.

‘The Monster’ was met with some serious resistance throughout, but broke him down in the sixth, and Doheny was forced to retire in the seventh.

He felt a twinge in his back and began limping away from the exchange, before the referee agreed after a chat with the challenger to wave the contest off.

Doheny stopped the fight and Inoue was handed his latest win, but in truly bizarre fashion and not by the dominant stoppage he wanted.

The fight began with Inoue taking centre ring and looking to control the exchanges from the opening bell, with Doheny trying to find any rhythm and box on the back foot.

His Irish rival had a huge task on his hands having been beaten four times prior in his career, and he immediately looked under pressure as the champion began to find his range in a slower first round.

A huge right hand landed on Doheny, which saw him feel his power for the first time, but Doheny shook it off quickly and continued to stick with his game plan.

As the fighters settled in, the challenger started to gain some fluidity of his own in the third round with some crafty body work.

Emerging for the fifth round, Doheny had shaken his head at previous work but sported a cut on his nose as he started to take damage.

Although he did have a good round and was refusing to lie down doing some good word to counter Inoue's aggression with the lead left hand.

Doheny marked up on his face as the halfway point approached, and he started to look damaged as he trudged back the corner despite some brave effort.

At the start of the seventh stanza, Doheny looked uncomfortable and decided he had been involved enough, calling a premature halt to proceedings.

He looked in serious pain as he walked back to the corner, and had certainly hurt his back, sitting gingerly on his stool waiting to receive treatment.

His performance was seriously brave, but he was carried back to the changing rooms by his team with his efforts ultimately ended by his body.

A move to featherweight could well be next on the cards for Inoue who could look to become a five-weight world champion.

His destructive power could well see him once again a formidable force at a new weight class, where the likes of Nick Ball and Angele Leo could lay in waiting.

But before that, he is likely to opt to remain at super-bantamweight, IBF challenger Sam Goodman could lay in wait who opted to take another tune-up fight domestically before pursuing any potential challenge.

Goodman himself has beaten Doheny so could prove to be a tougher challenge if he is able to fight to the best of his ability.

Bob Arum went on to confirm he was intending to take Inoue to the US in 2025, but only after defending his titles in another exploit in Japan.