Moments ago in Tokyo, Japan, unified super bantamweight king Naoya Inoue scored a seventh round TKO over Ireland’s TJ Doheny. Inoue broke his challenger down with body shots and, after just :16 seconds of round seven, Doheny signalled that he was in pain and unable to continue. It was a strange ending to the fight, and no doubt some people will say Doheny quit. It’s possible Doheny had a problem with his back. Either way, Doheny’s body broke down due to Inoue’s nasty power shots.
Inoue, though, is a brutal puncher, to both head and body, and he showed that again in today’s fight. Now 28-0(25), Inoue once again downloaded info as a fight went on, before unleashing hell, to Doheny’s body mostly, to get the stoppage. Southpaw Doheny boxed well at times, using feints and scoring with some left hands, but the 37 year old simply didn’t throw enough punches. Doheny falls to 26-5(20).
Inoue took his time, as he often does, and he showed Doheny and his skills respect. Doheny used plenty of movement, while “The Monster” soon began going to the body. Inoue went backwards in round 5, with Doheny now on the front foot. Inoue turned things up a notch in round six, with the 31 year old really giving his challenger a working over at the end of the session. Then came the somewhat odd ending, and Inoue now looks ahead to his next fight. Dohney tried his best and he did box well, but to repeat, today’s challenger didn’t throw enough punches, let alone land enough to trouble Inoue.
Inoue is said to be set to box again in December, once again in Tokyo, Japan, with Bob Arum saying in the ring today how Inoue will then fight again in early 2025, this time in Las Vegas, in a “big celebration,” whatever that means. Who Inoue faces in these fights will no doubt be confirmed soon. Inoue faced a tricky, somewhat negative, defensive-minded opponent today, but in yet another fight, “The Monster” never lost a round. Can anybody beat Inoue, and if so, then who…….?
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