Naoya Inoue Claims Mismatch Win Over TJ Doheny – Bigger Challenges Must Come In 2025
Naoya Inoue lived up to every expectation by comfortably retaining his undisputed super-bantamweight crown in Tokyo, Japan on Tuesday.
Inoue (28-0-0 25 KO) proved levels above TJ Dohney (26-5-0 20 KO) to inflict a first stoppage loss on the Irishman after he pulled up with a back injury early in the seventh round. It was an anticlimactic end to a fight that failed to sparkle, even if the Japanese star was always in control.
“Probably this fight didn’t end the way that you expected,” Inoue said. “I think it was more the accumulation of damage that I gave to him. “I know boxing is not easy so I really wanted to be slowing down, doing one [round] at a time, giving my opponent damage.”
Inoue has justified his ‘Monster’ nickname throughout his career, leaving behind a trail of victims – many of them world champions – as he dominated a division, climbed to a new one, and dominated again. He has now done that four times, rising from light-flyweight to super-flyweight to bantamweight, and now super-bantamweight.
It was at 118lbs where Inoue emerged as a pound-for-pound star, storming his way through each champion to become undisputed. He repeated the feat at 122lbs in December last year, becoming only the second male fighter of the four-belt era after Terence Crawford (light-welterweight and welterweight) to be undisputed in two weight classes.
Inoue Struggles To Find Worthy Opponents
Whichever division Inoue finds himself in, he has consistently struggled to find opponents capable of mounting a serious challenge. Much of that should be attributed to the brilliance of the Japanese fighter, but after the latest mismatch against Doheny, fans will soon become impatient and demand he is adequately tested.
There is some optimism that could come in 2025 after Top Rank president Bob Arum, who represents Inoue, revealed plans are in place for the pound-for-pound star to fight in the United States next year.
“I understand he’ll be coming back here to Tokyo to defend his title again at the end of the year and then we’re taking him to the United States for a big celebration in Las Vegas,” Arum said.
The December fight in Japan is expected to come against his WBO mandatory challenger Sam Goodman. The Australian entered the ring following Inoue’s sixth-round win over Luis Nery in May, and the champion verbally agreed to a fight.
Goodman (19-0-0 8 KO) had been in contention to challenge Inoue instead of Doheny, but it was the Irish fighter who got the nod. The top-ranked contender instead stayed active by taking on a dangerous challenge in Thailand’s Thachtana Luangphonand delivered an excellent performance to win on points in July.
Who Could Be His Stateside Rival?
Matchroom Boxing has attempted to tout their fighter Murodjon Akhmadaliev, who is ranked No 1 by the WBA, while David Picasso retained his mandatory status with the WBC following the points win over Azat Hovhannisyan on the undercard of Floyd Mayweather’s exhibition bout against John Gotti III.
Goodman, though, appears the one to help Inoue close out another successful year fighting in front of his home fans. However, for his first fight in the United States in four years – and first since becoming a global superstar – there will be a demand for Inoue to be matched against an exciting, well-known opponent.
Who that could be will be speculated about nearer the time, but much will depend on Inoue and his divisional plans. There have been calls from featherweight champions, including the IBF’s Angelo Leo, for Inoue to make the step up to 126lbs, although whether he would run the risk of fighting a champion immediately at his biggest-ever weight remains to be seen.
Inoue’s power has transferred impressively in each weight class he has climbed – he’s perhaps got even stronger and more punch-effective. However, every fighter has his weight limit, as Crawford showed when he stepped up to fight Israil Madrimov at 154lbs. ‘Bud’ still won but the power that guided him to welterweight dominance did not carry the same force.
Whatever lies ahead for Inoue, he and his matchmakers will be aware that bigger challenges must be found in 2025. If he continues to topple champions then his status as a pound-for-pound great and future Hall of Famer will only get stronger.
