Inoue will defend the 122-lb Undisputed Championship against Doheny in Tokyo in September.

In September, Naoya Inoue will defend his vacant super bantamweight title against TJ Doheny in Tokyo, Japan.

It's an unfortunate move by 31-year-old 'Monster' Inoue (27-0, 24 KOs), as fans aren't interested in seeing him fight Irish native Doheny, 37 (26-4, 20 KOs), who has lost four of his nine fights. from 2019.

Doheny's Latest Struggles and Comebacks

This could be seen as Inoue avenging the losses of these Japanese fighters who lost at the hands of Doheny: Ryosuke Iwasa, Ryohei Takahashi, and Kazuki Nakajima. There's no real payback for Inoue for beating a guy with a 5-4 record in his last nine fights.

Doheny is ranked #2 WBO, #6 WBA, #7 IBF, and #9 WBC. He went through a rough patch in his career from 2019 to 2023 when these fighters beat him:

Sam Goodman
Michael Conlan
Ionuț Băluță
Daniel Roman

Why Doheny?

Although Doheny has won his last three fights since going 2-4, the wins have been against lower ranked scrubs. Doheny's three comeback fights have all taken place in Japan, so Japanese fans are familiar with him and will welcome seeing Inoue defend his four belts against him.

More importantly, it's a safe fight for Inoue because Doheny is not a knockout threat like other fighters, especially his WBA bond and dangerous skills at 126.

Fans want Inoue to face his WBA #1 ranked opponent, Murodjon Akhmadaliev, who has shown no interest in fighting, or move up to featherweight to face the killers at that weight where he could face defeat after defeat.

Inoue has the size to fight a featherweight and looks lightweight when he's brought back into the water.

Dangerous Sharks Await Inoue At 126

Inoue seems to have lost the sense of risk he had before and has been playing it safe. American fans noticed that Inoue chose to stay at 122, and feel that he is afraid to move up to 126 to face these dangerous sharks who can tear him to pieces:

– Nick Ball
– Bruce Carrington
– Rey Vargas
– Luis Alberto Lopez
– Robey Ramirez
– Rafael Espinoza