Naoya Inoue continues to impress every time he steps into a boxing ring, and he did it again on Tuesday with a stoppage victory against overmatched TJ Doheny in Tokyo.
Inoue (now 28-0 with 25 wins inside distance) is currently ranked #2 by the hallowed Ring magazine’s P4P rankings for a reason, and he rammed that point home by defeating 20/1 underdog Doheny (now 26-5).
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‘The Monster’ was a prohibitive 1/66 favourite going into this one, which was aired live by Sky Sports in the UK. Basically nobody gave his 37-year-old Irish-born, Sydney-based opponent a prayer.
It took more than 6 rounds for Inoue to start to break down the game Doheny, but the actual ending by TKO early in the seventh was a shock. It came via an injury for the Irishman, who was unable to continue.
Inoue vs Doheny round-by-round
Here is how things unfolded at the Ariaka Arena in Tokyo, Japan on Tuesday:
Round 1
A tentative opening session which gradually came to life. The first 90 seconds had Doheny pawing forward with his right hand and Inoue blocking, but no real leather thrown. As the round continued Inoue started to find his range and set up big right hands to the body of Doheny. A quiet start but with a hint of fireworks to come.
Round 2
Inoue’s gameplan was becoming clear as the second unfolded – hit Doheny hard and often to the body. The best example came midway through the session when he blasted away at the Irishman with the challenger on the ropes. The force of the body blow sent Doheny’s head snapping back momentarily through the ropes. That right to the body was the money shot so far for the Japanese superstar.
Round 3
Excellent round for Doheny as he produced far more output. Moving smartly out of the southpaw stance, he threw consistently, though most of it to be honest was easily blocked by Inoue. In this session ‘The Monster’ appeared content to analyse and stalk his opponent. Doheny, despite the improvement, was marked on the bridge of the nose.
Round 4
The best round of the bout so far. Doheny started it well and Inoue finished it the better. Both men enjoyed success in the early going but the Irishman was starting to find himself on the ropes more towards the end with Inoue looking again to load up those big right-hand body shots.
Round 5
The pace had been upped considerably by Inoue in this session – that was surely bad news for Doheny. The Irishman was still fighting gamely but he was constantly being pushed back by ‘The Monster’, who was always looking for those big body shots to break down his plucky opponent.
Round 6
The best round so far for Inoue, who produced a sustained beatdown for three painful minutes. Doheny was marked to the face, but the body was surely in more pain still as ‘The Monster’ battered his midriff with powerful right hands throughout. The Irishman was on the back foot for the entirety, and on the ropes taking a sustained flurry as the bell ended.
Round 7
A very early end to the proceedings in Round 7 – in shock fashion as Doheny recoiled in pain with an apparent injury. At this stage it wasn’t clear whether the cause was the back or the leg, but his right leg was clearly impacted badly as he limped away and referee Bence Kovacs waved things off.
Inoue vs Doheny results
Inoue wins by TKO in Round 7, and retains his undisputed super-bantamweight titles.
