‘Monster’ Naoya Inoue (27-0, 24 KOs) has made an unpopular option to defend his 4 122-lb titles in opposition to TJ Doheny (26-4, 20 KOs) in September in his native homeland in Tokyo, Japan.
Inoue’s choice to defend his undisputed tremendous bantamweight championship in opposition to the 37-year-old Doheny, seen by followers as an outdated barnacle, has resulted in an enormous backlash from followers on social media, who’re sad with the Japanese star’s alternative.
There’s little good to say about Doheny apart from he’s received three in a row, however his opposition has been the weak selection to assist rebuild his shattered profession when he misplaced three out of 4 fights from 2020 to 2023.
Doheny’s latest wins have pushed him up the rankings at 122 to #2 WBO, #6 WBA, #7 IBF, and #9 WBC. These three victories all occurred in Japan in opposition to Japanese fighters, so he’s identified by the locals over there, which is able to create a level of curiosity in Inoue taking over Doheny.
It’s questionable whether or not Doheny belongs anyplace close to the highest 10, given the poor middle-of-the-road three fighters he beat to claw his manner again after getting repeatedly crushed throughout a foul run of luck.
Historical past of Upsets
Throughout TJ Doheny’s finest years, he defeated three Japanese fighters: Ryosuke Iwasa, Ryohei Takahashi, and Kazuki Nakajima. Some view Inoue’s choice to face Doheny as a manner for him to avenge his countrymen’s losses. If that’s the case, it’s a waste of his profession as a result of these guys weren’t adequate to beat him and the opposite high fighters.
Followers wished to see Inoue defend his undisputed championship in opposition to former IBF/WBA tremendous bantamweight champion Murodjon Akhmadaliev, who’s ranked #1 WBA and is in a single for a world title.
Relatively than combat the damaging Akhmadaliev, Monster Inoue has determined to make a voluntary protection in opposition to Doheny. It’s simple to determine why. Doheny is the simpler combat with much less danger.
Featherweight Fears?
There’s a rising perception amongst U.S. followers that Naoya Inoue is afraid of transferring as much as featherweight as a result of dangers concerned with combating higher opposition, a lot of which have comparable punching energy and have the technical expertise to cope with his hand pace.
The featherweights view Inoue as meals, they usually can’t wait to beat him and be the primary to ship him all the way down to defeat. These fighters are ready for Inoue at 126: Nick Ball, Bruce Carrington, Rey Vargas, Luis Alberto Lopez, Robeisy Ramirez, and Rafael Espinoza,
These hungry wolves can’t wait to feed on Inoue, and it’s going to be fascinating to see what occurs when he comes down in weight to face them.
