There is little doubt that one of Boxing’s biggest stars in recent years has been the undefeated Naoya Inoue. A fighter known simply to Boxing fans as “The Monster." Inoue has been one of the most dominant fighters of this generation being one of the few fighters to become an undisputed world champion in multiple weight divisions. Currently sitting atop the 122lb. Jr. Featherweight division as its undisputed champion, Inoue has rarely faced an opponent that has been able to withstand his constant pressure and punching power, which has seen him score knockouts in twenty-four of his twenty-seven career wins registering a career knockout percentage of nearly 89%.
As intimidating as that statistic is, there have been a few occasions throughout Inoue’s career where he has been tested. Some may recall Inoue’s first encounter with future Hall of Famer Nonito Donaire in November 2019 in the finals of the World Boxing Super Series® ️ Bantamweight tournament. In what was the fight of the year, Donaire was able to engage Inoue in a toe to toe battle that went the twelve round world championship distance. Inoue was not only able to continue to dominate all competition following his victory over Donaire to win that tournament, but was also able to score a brutal knockout of Donaire in their rematch in June 2022.
In his last fight, however, Inoue received a scare in his title defense against former two-division world champion Luis Nery in May of this year, when Nery dropped Inoue hard with a flush left hook to the jaw in the first round. While Inoue was able to recover and stop Nery in the sixth round, some might view what Nery was able to do as a possible sign that there might be a way to combat “The Monster."
Inoue’s next title defense will come on Tuesday, September 3rd at the Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan against former IBF Jr. Featherweight world champion TJ Doheny. A fight that can be seen here in the United States on digital subscription sports streaming network ESPN+. Doheny, a veteran of thirty professional fights, held the IBF world championship in the Jr. Featherweight division from 2018-2019, will come into this fight rated number two in the world in the World Boxing Organization (WBO) and number four in the International Boxing Federation (IBF) Jr. Featherweight ratings. The challenger will also enter this bout riding a four fight winning streak.
If one were to look for some additional positives for Doheny coming into this fight, he has twenty knockouts in his twenty-six career wins and has never been stopped in his four career losses. Additionally, Doheny is a world-class boxer and has shown he can go far into fights and go the distance. The question is whether he can do that against a fighter like Inoue.
How can the challenger do this? It is crucial that Doheny establish himself as an elusive target immediately. This is a task that is easier said than done both due to Inoue’s constant pressure as well as his punching power in both hands. Doheny must find a way to offset that pressure and do so for all twelve rounds. An additional challenge will be for him to pick his spots to try and land offense and get back to a safe distance before Inoue can land punches. One approach he could take might be to try and time the champion as he comes forward and take in the role of a counter puncher in looking to counter what Inoue throws. This is how Luis Nery was able to catch Inoue with that left hook in waiting for the champion to drop his hand, which provided a brief opening that he was able to take advantage of. Simply put, Doheny must be tactical and out-think the champion if he wants to become a two-time world champion in this fight.
Although this likely has an appearance of simply the next title defense in what will be a Hall of Fame career for Inoue, it is important to keep in mind that even though he did stop Luis Nery in his last fight and showed that he can deal with adversity, for a fighter with a moniker as “The Monster," it was the first time that Inoue also showed that like every other fighter, he is human. The question that he will have to answer in this bout is whether the knockdown he suffered against Nery was a case of a tactical mistake, which on that night he was able to quickly correct and go on to another victory, or if that brief moment was perhaps a sign that an aura that often follows fighters like Inoue, who are known as " Knockout Artists” might be beginning to fade. If it is the latter, TJ Doheny could be in a scenario where he might be in the right place at the right time to catch Inoue if the champion is starting to slip from his best performances.
"And That's The Boxing Truth.”
Inoue vs. Doheny takes place on Tuesday, September 3rd at the Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan. The fight can be seen in the United States on digital subscription sports streaming network ESPN+ beginning at 5:45AM ET/2:45AM PT.
ESPN+ is available through the ESPN app on mobile, tablet, and connected streaming devices/Smart TVs. For more information on ESPN+ including schedules, list of compatible streaming devices, platforms, Smart TVs, and to subscribe please visit: www.ESPNPlus.com.
(*Card and Start time Subject to Change.*)
(* U.S. Times Only/Check your local listings Internationally.*)
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