Inoue Retains Undisputed Championship Via Stoppage Due To Apparent Injury

The next chapter in the career of undefeated four-division world champion Naoya Inoue, a man who also holds the distinction of becoming an undisputed world champion in both the 118lb. Bantamweight and 122lb. Jr. Featherweight divisions was one that some felt was a formality. Despite suffering a scare in his last title defense of the Undisputed Jr. Featherweight crown against former world champion Luis Nery, where he was knocked down for the first time in his career, some thought his opponent in former IBF Jr. Featherweight world champion TJ Doheny would be overmatched due to the often devastating punching power that Inoue has.

What fans including those who were in attendance at the Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan on September 3rd were treated to, however, was a surprisingly tactical battle where the challenger more than held his own, despite the bleak odds that he faced.  Doheny used frequent faints to disrupt Inoue’s ability to find a rhythm and put forth a consistent attack. This not only kept the pace of the combat at a measured tactical pace where frankly it seemed in spots to favor the challenger. Doheny was also very tactical in how he picked his spots to throw his punches, mixing from the body to the head and only throwing short combinations. While this was an effective strategy for several rounds, Inoue’s punches were harder and more effective when he did land them.

Although Doheny succeeded in keeping the fight at a pace that seemed to nullify the champion’s usual consistent pressure and offensive attack where it was more competitive, after four rounds, Inoue was able to let his hands go more frequently, landing hooks to the body and the head of the challenger. It was one left hook to the body in the latter seconds of the fifth round that seemed to have Doheny hurt. As round six began, Inoue threw a combination that had Doheny on the ropes attempting to use his lateral movement to defend and evade the incoming punches from the champion. It seemed as Doheny was attempting this as he got hit with a body shot, he appeared to turn awkwardly and indicated an injury before limping back to his corner, clearly compromised in some way. The fight was over just sixteen seconds into round six. 

While this fight did not offer the conclusive outcome that most have come to expect whenever Naoya Inoue fights, there is something to be said about how competitive the fight seemed to be before the stoppage and that this followed a bout where Inoue was knocked down for the first time in his career and faced a determined effort from Luis Nery. In that, it was the first time in Inoue’s career that the fighter known to his fans as “The Monster” appeared to show that like the rest of us, he is human. Ultimately, the champion did what he had to do here in this fight and retained his title via stoppage due to an apparent injury to a fighter in TJ Doheny, who had never been stopped previously in his career. As to what extent of the injury and exactly what that injury was is unknown as of this writing, but in defeat, Doheny was not only able to give a good account of himself, but was also able to ask a question that seems to follow what happened to Inoue in his last bout against Nery. After winning world championships in four different divisions in dominant fashion and becoming an undisputed world champion in two of those divisions, has Naoya Inoue hit his ceiling as far as how high he can go at 122lbs. where he will be able to compete at or near his best? 

It goes without saying that no matter how dominant a fighter is regardless of weight class that as time goes on the accumulation of fights as well as the physical toll one endures during training does have an affect and opposition does tend to be able to withstand punches better as a fighter moves up in weight than was the case in lower divisions for the reason that in a lot of cases, those fighters are natural at the given weight where the fight is taking place. Although this does not necessarily mean that Naoya Inoue is necessarily at a point where he might be declining as far as his skills or punching power is concerned, his last two outings have shown that he is indeed human and may likely have a harder time with the competition as a Jr. Featherweight or even if he chooses down the line to test the waters in the 126lb. Featherweight division in an attempt to become one of the rare fighters to have won world championships in five different divisions.

Regardless of what may be ahead for Inoue down the road, clearly we are witnessing a future Hall of Famer that is one of the rare fighters where the term “Generational Talent” is more than appropriate to describe. This observer is looking forward to whatever might be next.

“And That’s The Boxing Truth.”

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Is Doheny Catching "The Monster" At The Right Time?

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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The Featherweight Puzzle

 

Over the last few weeks, the sport of Boxing at least in regard to the professional side of the sport has seen a focus of sorts on the 126lb. Featherweight division. Of course, readers here on The Boxing Truth®️ have seen the coverage that this observer has provided over the last two weeks of Matchroom Boxing’s second season of its Fight Camp series at the estate of promoter Eddie Hearn and the Hearn family known in Boxing circles as Matchroom Headquarters. Coincidentally, the first two weeks of the season have been headlined by two Featherweight bouts that may have an impact on the upper echelon of the division going forward. 

 

First, it was Leigh Wood, who scored a dominant twelfth round stoppage of top contender Xu Can on July 31^st that earned him an interim/regular championship designation in the World Boxing Association’s (WBA) Featherweight ratings. This was followed by longtime contender Kid Galahad, who scored an eleventh round stoppage this past weekend (August 7^th) in his rematch with James Dickens to win the International Boxing Federation (IBF) Featherweight world championship. On August 6^th however, an additional Featherweight bout took place at Falls Park in Belfast, Northern Ireland, where undefeated contender Michael Conlan met former IBF Jr. Featherweight world champion TJ Doheny in a twelve round bout. A fight that took place before a crowd of over six thousand spectators in a purpose filled setting.

 

While it was not long ago in the days predating the ongoing global COVID-19 epidemic to see a loud and enthusiastic crowd of spectators attending fights on a regular basis, especially in the Boxing hotbed of the United Kingdom and Ireland, perhaps it was the circumstance that this was the first Boxing event to take place in Ireland with spectators in attendance that made the atmosphere special, though perhaps also a bit uneasy depending on one’s perspective given the circumstances of the ongoing crisis. As for the fight itself, it was a largely tactical bout that was in many was dictated by Conlan’s ability to control distance, pick his shots, defense due to outstanding upper body movement, ability to give angles, and finally attack in spurts.

 

The highlights of the fight came first in the closing seconds of round four when Conlan connected with a flush right hook that stunned Doheny to form him backward, in round five, Conlan followed up with an attack to Doheny’s body, which would force him to take a knee. From that point on, Conlan continued to mix his attack well and, despite Doheny being able to have success sporadically throughout the bout, it would be Conlan who would box his way to a convincing twelve round unanimous decision victory. Although this was an extremely technical performance by Conlan and one might argue that the potential for a stoppage victory was there for him if he had opted to be more aggressive during those periods where he let his hands go, it was nevertheless, a dominant performance for a fighter that is also rated number one in the world by the World Boxing Organization (WBO) in the 122lb. Jr. Featherweight division.

 

The victory for Conlan however, also adds his name to what is becoming an increasingly complicated puzzle in the 126lb. Featherweight division. Now, the reader might be asking “Just what makes the situation in the Featherweight division a complicated puzzle Beau?” I will do my best to explain and hopefully, do so in such a way that it does not give the reader a migraine headache.

 

First, there are five recognized world sanctioning organizations that on their own can create confusion simply because of the number of organizations that regulate and sanction world championship bouts in Boxing’s seventeen weight classes. For the purposes of the current Featherweight landscape, the International Boxing Organization (IBO) does not currently have a world champion in the Featherweight division. There remains the World Boxing Council (WBC) as well as the previously three mentioned organizations, the WBA, WBO, and IBF.

 

In regard to the WBA, the structure of their rankings process is one that I have criticized frequently over the years simply because there is one world champion that is deemed “Super” champion, followed by two fighters that each hold an interim or regular designation in the WBA ratings in a given weight class. While frankly I could pen a column or perhaps several on the fallacies of such a structure, as I have also pointed out frequently over the years in discussing the WBA, it is something that on the surface is well-intentioned as a way of ensuring contenders get an opportunity to fight for a world championship if in the event that due to injuries or other circumstances the world champion does not fulfill their obligations to defend their championship against mandatory challengers, which are annually mandated.

 

The current picture of the WBA Featherweight ratings sees Leo Santa Cruz recognize as world champion, while Leigh Wood holds one Interim/Regular champion designation. Until their meeting on August 6^th, both Michael Conlan and TJ Doheny were rated number four and five respectively in the same ratings. Now, with Conlan earning the second Interim/Regular designation, the question becomes what’s next? In a perfect world, Leigh Wood would be next in line to challenge Leo Santa Cruz as the next mandatory challenger, which is essentially what an Interim/Regular championship designation is, is a mandatory challenger position.

 

For several reasons including, but not limited to different promoters having respective interests involved, competing television networks across both the traditional and streaming realms, the fact that those promoters and networks do not always see the benefit of working together both for their interests as well as the fighters involved, and finally the sanctioning organizations involved, the idea that a fighter that earns a mandatory title shot, getting that opportunity in a reasonable timeframe is never a certainty.

 

In this case, despite his status as the WBA world champion in the Featherweight division, Leo Santa Cruz has not defended the WBA Featherweight world championship in over two years. Instead, moving up to the 130lb. Jr. Lightweight division before meeting Gervonta Davis in October of last year in a fight where WBA designations in multiple weight classes, but only one world championship, Santa Cruz’ WBA Jr. Featherweight world championship was on the line, a championship he lost to Davis by knockout, was on the line.  As much as that is a reflection of the fallacy of the WBA’s ratings structure, and keeping in mind that a good portion of Santa Cruz’ inactivity at Featherweight may have been caused by the circumstances of COVID-19, the fact is, the WBA championship has been inactive at 126lbs. with the exception of of the top contenders that have been vying for interim/regular championship designations.

 

Of course, the WBA could mandate Santa Cruz to defend his Featherweight championship against Leigh Wood. The problem will then become whether or not the respective promoters involved, the Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) group of promoters, where Santa Cruz has primarily fought and Matchroom Boxing, Woods’ promoter will be willing to sit down and make the fight. While this does not factor in the competing networks involved Showtime/Fox Sports, who primarily carry PBC events and DAZN, who is firmly alight with Matchroom Boxing , but has also shown a willingness to work with all promoters, that would likely each make offers for the potential fight to air on their respective platforms, the fact that rival promoters rarely see beyond their own interests often in of itself, leads to an impasse, which unfortunately means bouts of significant interest do not get made.

 

The other possibility is the WBA may strip Santa Cruz of their Featherweight world championship and then elevate Wood from holding an interim/regular champion designation to full WBA champion, thus eliminating the need to sanction a fight for a vacant world championship, if that were to happen, which in theory is why interim/regular designations exists beyond ensuring top contenders get their opportunity to fight for a world championship, the question will be whether the organization will then mandate Wood to face Michael Conlan in his first title defense.

 

Although the same conundrum exists in that scenario with Matchroom/DAZN on one end of the table, but different with promoter Bob Arum, his promotional entity Top Rank, Inc, and ESPN on the other side of the negotiating table representing Conlan, the good news is Matchroom and Top Rank have worked together in the past to make fights and the broadcasters involved here also showed a willingness to work together so there at least is a possibility of a Wood-Conlan bout for the WBA championship coming to fruition. Out of respect for the reader, I will not dwell into this possible unification scenarios that would involve the WBC, IBF, and WBO in addition to the WBA. 

 

The scenarios this observer has laid out though I have done my best to explain it simply, can be confusing enough in the context of one column. Although this “Featherweight Puzzle “ will not be solved in short order, The first step towards solving the puzzle and hopefully unification of the Featherweight division in the process will depend largely on whether there can be clarity in regard to the WBA’s end in the equation. I think yours truly is safe in saying the Boxing world hopes clarity comes sooner than later. At least we can hope.

 

“And That’s The Boxing Truth.”

 

The Boxing Truth®️ is a registered trademark of Beau Denison All Rights Reserved.

 

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