Naoya Inoue secured his 28th straight win on September 3, 2024, in Tokyo. He remained the undisputed world super-bantamweight champion after TJ Doheny quit with an apparent back injury.
What happened?
Naoya Inoue's pressure and relentless body work started getting its rewards from the sixth round. TJ Doheny's face was marked by the end of the fight.
The injury
Doheny complained of a “twinge” after walking back to his corner gingerly. He dropped to his knee and quit in the seventh round due to the injury.
Naoya Inoue's reaction
Naoya Inoue celebrated his technical knockout in muted fashion. He stated, “This fight didn’t end how we expected,” through a translator.
What comes next?
Naoya Inoue's promoter, Bob Arum, said Inoue will be defending his titles again in Tokyo at the end of the year. Then, he will fight in Las Vegas.
Naoya Inoue is a four-division world champion in light-flyweight, super-flyweight, bantamweight, and now super-bantamweight. He didn't have it all his own way against Doheny, who made the bout awkward with his sharp movements and experience.
Doheny might even have won the third round after a powerful punch to the body and then a left-right combination to Inoue's head. But in round four, he was getting trapped on the ropes and picked off by Inoue, who slowly broke Doheny down.
The pressure told in the sixth when Inoue's body work and an overhead right hurt Doheny. He appeared to clutch the bottom of his back in the final seconds of the round.
The fight was over 16 seconds into the seventh when Doheny wriggled free from a flurry of punches before saying he couldn’t continue. The Irishman left the ring in clear pain and without conducting an interview.
Naoya Inoue's 23rd world title fight since his first in 2014 ended with his seventh straight win in Japan. He will look to continue his winning streak in his next title defense.