Top Rank & ESPN are headed to the land of the rising sun for an epic super bantamweight title fight featuring ‘The Monster’ Naoya Inoue against TJ Doheny, on September 3 at the Ariake Arena in Tokyo. The 37-year-old southpaw, Doheny, will look to halt the champion’s destructive streak and regain the title, eyeing a massive upset over the 27-0, Inoue.
The main event bout between the Jap, Inoue & TJ Doheny is slated to start in the U.S. at 2:30 am ET/ 11:30 p.m. PT, ring walks are expected to commence at 6:00 a.m. ET / 3:00 a.m. PT with the live stream available on ESPN+.
This bout will also mark the 28th professional appearance of Inoue who aims to extend his winning streak to 28-0 after his recent outing against Luis Nery at the Tokyo Dome.
𝗠𝗢𝗡𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝗦𝗞𝗜𝗟𝗟𝗦 🇯🇵
Naoya Inoue showing off his killer technique ahead of his fight with TJ Dohney on September 3 🥊
#Inoue #InoueDohney #Boxing pic.twitter.com/g9QepgQy7F
— BoxingScene.com (@boxingscene) August 23, 2024
As for his opponent, Doheny, he has racked up three stellar wins to rebound from a close unanimous decision loss to Sam Goodman, winning all three in Japan stunningly.
Boxing fans in the States can catch the action on ESPN as mentioned above with a monthly subscription fee starting at $10.99 and an annual fee of $109.99.
Whereas, fight fans from the United Kingdom can tune into the action live on SkySports. Besides the main event super bantamweight war, the card also promises a whole lot of action, featuring four other packed cards including two more bantamweight scraps.
Naoya Inoue vs TJ Doheny – Main card explained
At 37 years of age, September third’s opportunity might be Doheny’s last dance, his final crack at the super bantamweight title. And that’s exactly why you cannot count him out yet.
His last performance came on the Inoue-Nery undercard this year in May when he stopped Filipino boxer, Byrl Bayogos in just four rounds.
Furthermore, he has redeemed himself of his loss against Goodman with three back to back to back performances in Japan, adding to his mythical status in the country.
Now, coming to the crux of the matter, Japan’s Yoshiki Takei will duke it out with Daigo Higa for the WBO bantamweight title in the co-main event before Inoue and Doheny make their way to the ring.
Next up on the main card is a junior welterweight bout between 41-year-old Venezuelan boxer, Ismael Barroso & Andy Hiraoka. Jin Sasaki vs. Qamil Balla is another welterweight bout on the card that has gathered a lot of attention.
The massive card will open with a super bantamweight all-Japanese clash between Toshiki Shimomachi and Ryuya Tsugawa of the Japanese title.
