Irish southpaw TJ Doheny, who is enjoying a fine run of form, is set for an almighty challenge when he takes on undisputed junior featherweight champion Naoya Inoue on Sept. 3 at Ariake Arena in Tokyo.
Australia-based Doheny, 37, was a surprise IBF titleholder at 122 pounds when he outpointed Ryosuke Iwasa to take the title inside Tokyo’s Korakuen Hall in August 2018. He made one defense, halting Ryohei Takahashi in 11 rounds the following January, before the fairy tale seemed to come to an end in a unification fight with Daniel Roman three months later. Doheny survived two knockdowns before losing a majority decision.
Consecutive decision losses to Ionut Baluta (March 2020) and Michael Conlan (August 2021) left Doheny at the crossroads. Another defeat, again on points, to rising contender Sam Goodman 14 months ago, seemed certain to end Doheny’s time at the top level.
However, he has subsequently won three in a row, all back in Tokyo, beating Kazuki Nakajima in 11 rounds, halting Japhethlee Llamido in one and then, on the undercard of Inoue-Luis Nery in May, taking out Bryl Bayogos in four.
Doheny’s manager, Mike Altamura, recently told BoxingScene: “He walks down the streets of Tokyo and there’s people out there pointing, coming over for photos, wanting his autograph and saying his name.”
The veteran’s popularity in Japan is likely one reason for this surprise shot. The other would be his favorable position in the WBO rankings. Thanks to recent victories with the WBO Asia Pacific belt on the line, he has risen to No. 2, just behind Goodman, who could be next for Inoue if he gets past Doheny. Goodman is Inoue's mandatory but opted to take an interim bout, suffering a hand injury in a July 10 victory over Chainoi Worawut.
Doheny is also ranked 9th by the WBC and 10th by the IBF. The Ring placed him at eighth and he is 10th with the Transnational Boxing Ratings Board.
This will be Doheny’s fifth outing in Japan, but for him to continue his unbeaten run in the country he’ll have to craft one of the biggest shocks in boxing history against one of the very best fighters, pound for pound, in the sport.
On the undercard, WBO bantamweight titleholder Yoshiki Takei (9-0, 8 KOs) will defend his belt against former flyweight world champion Daigo Higa (21-2-1, 19 KOs). Also featured: Venezuelan puncher Ismael Barroso (25-4-2, 23 KOs) defends his interim junior welterweight title against Japanese contender Andy Hiraoka (23-0, 18 KOs).
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