Undisputed super bantamweight champion Naoya ‘Monster’ Inoue has always looked like a world beater. Despite some struggles, he stopped a very old-looking TJ Doheny. This was on Tuesday night at the Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan. While some have billed this as a less-than-convincing win, other fans have lauded Inoue for putting up a hard-hitting masterclass.
Inoue landed a solid right to the chin of Doheny, 4-0 in Japan, in the opening frame, along with the round’s final punch. In the middle of the R3, Doheny landed a couple of punches on Inoue’s chin, who was having a good round. A minute into the R6, Inoue connected with two rights to the chin. In the final seconds of the round, the Monster landed half a dozen unanswered shots, the final one to Doheny’s back. Inoue landed several body shots in the seventh round. Doheny’s back seemed to be dislocated.
Irish-born Doheny, 37, retired abruptly in the seventh round with a lower back injury. At the stoppage, TJ Doheny had been leaning back against the ropes and using his ostrich-style defense. ‘Monster’ Inoue’s offense came in his defense in the latter rounds. A boxer able to fetch big pennies to his name, ‘Monster’ showed how good he is despite having initial rhythm troubles.
Many thought the pro boxer out of Zama, Kanagawa, Japan, had little head movement. It was subsequently nowhere near to avoid the solid lefts. However, when it got going, Inoue lived up to his beastly moniker once again. He tagged the opponent with little effort and retained his undisputed junior featherweight strap with a seventh-round TKO victory. As such, the win has gone quite viral.
What’s next for Naoya Inoue after his late seventh-round TKO victory
Naoya Inoue (28-0, 25KOs) is one of only three men in history who have won two undisputed world titles in the four-belt era. The other two are Terence Crawford and Oleksandr Usyk. He is also the first and only boxer to win the undisputed super bantamweight championship and held all four major titles since 2023.
While TJ Doheny was throwing down and sparking him straight down the pipe, he showed why it’s never easy to mess with the ‘Monster.’ Inoue lived up to his fame and finished the job rather steadily. In the aftermath, it came to light that Inoue will remain at the 122 mark. He will defend his undisputed super bantamweight title against IBF/WBO #1 contender Sam Goodman on 24th December in Tokyo.
Goodman was not the fighter the fans wanted to see the Japanese star face next. Goodman is on the weak side of a puncher and another middlebrow opposition for Inoue. The fans want Inoue, 31, to move up to 126 and face Bruce Carrington, Angelo Leo, Rafael Espinoza, or even Brandon Figueroa. American fans see Inoue as a cleverly packaged hype job and want that to the test.
Top Rank promoter Bob Arum has set up the pairing with 25-year-old Goodman. Should they both win, they’ll meet at the Tokyo Dome in April 2025. ‘Monster’ is a messiah to Japanese pro boxing in the Dome and already holds much fame. However, Saudi GEA and Turki Alalshikh want more pound-for-pound challenges and super fights for Inoue. It’s still quite up in the air if the boxer finally accepts after this win.
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