HARD as nails and determined as ever, Ireland’s road warrior TJ Doheny says “everything is in perfect condition” for his clash with Japan’s ‘Monster’ Naoya Inoue for the undisputed super-bantamweight world championship in Tokyo’s Ariake Arena on Tuesday (12.30pm).
Doheny - who weighed-in yesterday at 121.5lbs and Inoue on the 122lb limit - has had success in Japan before. He beat Ryosuke Iwasa to win the IBF super-bantamweight title in 2019 before losing in a unification match to WBA champion Daniel Roman. The 37-year-old from Portlaoise is aiming to prove that he can still compete at the highest level when he faces the unbeaten Inoue.
“Everything is in perfect condition, I couldn’t ask to be in a better position right now and I’m really honoured to be challenging for the undisputed world championship,” said the southpaw.
Doheny lost four fights out of six between 2019 and 2023, a run that included a loss to Michael Conlan at Falls Park. However, rumours of his demise proved premature and ‘The Power’ has punched his way to glory with three successive stoppage wins that paved the way for this shot at glory.
“My motivation has come from tasting being a world champion and trying to get back, but it is hard to get up for fights when they’re not world championship fights,” he said.
“I’ve always had the self-belief that I belong at this top table with these champions and I’ve always believed I’d get back here.
“It has taken me a bit longer than I imagined but I’ve enjoyed the climb and I’m ready to put on a good show on Tuesday.”
Will a “good show” be enough? His opponent Inoue is a phenomenon rated as one of the most devastating pound-for-pound hitters in world boxing. He is unbeaten in 27 fights and has knocked out his last eight opponents.
The 31-year-old secured his first world title more than 10 years ago and has won all 22 of his world championship duels.
PODY McCrory will be back in action at the SSE Arena on November 1 but there will be no all-Ireland battle with Dublin’s Luke Keeler for West Belfast’s ‘Hammer’.
McCrory is determined to get back to the “top table” and he came close to a seat at it earlier this year. As he put the finishing touches to his preparation to fight Edgar Berlanga in Orlando in February, Matchroom boss Eddie Hearn confirmed that the winner would go on to face pound-for-pound superstar ‘Canelo’ Alvarez.
A few days later, Berlanga won at a partisan Caribe Royale ballroom and on September 14 he faces Canelo at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas where the WBC and WBO world super-middleweight titles will be on the line.
Win or lose, Berlanga will be handsomely rewarded for his efforts. Meanwhile, McCrory, who will return at light-heavyweight, has ground to make up and he admits he didn’t do himself justice that night in Florida.
“Good luck to Berlanga,” said McCrory.
“It’s a big fight for him and it’s a fight that everyone in the division would want. It’s Canelo and he’s the main man.
“I was one lucky punch away from landing the biggest fight in boxing. I think maybe the occasion got to me a bit more than I thought it would have. They got their tactics right and we didn’t and there were a few other factors like the referee let him away with a lot and he was telling me off instead of speaking to him.
“There were low blows and an elbow in the third round… All that changed my tactics. I lost but it was a great experience.”
It’s an experience he won’t want to repeat, but he can use it to his benefit between now and the end of his career and, if Berlanga goes on to beat Canelo in Vegas, then his loss to the formidable Puerto Rican maybe won’t annoy him so much.
“Retirement was thought about but not for too long,” he says.
“Now I’m looking forward to getting back in the ring and trying to achieve more. I feel like there’s a better fighter in me than what I showed in Florida and my aim now is to go and prove that.
“I’m a realist and, if I’m honest with myself, I probably only have 12 months left in boxing so for me it’s about getting back in the ring, getting the win and then securing the best fight possible.”
He will come back at light-heavyweight and at one stage he was the IBO world champion at that weight. However. McCrory could drop back down to super-middle if he can secure the all-Irish headliner he wants.
“I would love to get a fight before I finish with (Jason) Quigley or Keeler,” he said.
“I’m sure both of those lads would be open to it and, if I came through that, then you’d be able to call out the big names in the division. But I still haven’t decided whether it’ll be super-middle or light-heavy, whichever one opens up more opportunities.”
WITH the super-featherweight world title rumble between Anthony Cacace and Josh Warrington providing chief support, promoters Queensbury are targeting a record-breaking attendance for the IBF heavyweight rumble between Anthony Joshua and Daniel Dubois at Wembley Stadium on September 21.
The boxing spectacular also features a performance by Oasis frontman Liam Gallagher and the initial allocation of 90,000 tickets has already been sold with an application now made to local authorities to increase capacity.
If granted, Joshua-Dubois could eclipse Tyson Fury’s 2022 win over Dillian Whyte, which pulled in 94,000 to Wembley, making it the biggest fight ever in Britain and post-war Europe.
It will see Joshua attempt to become world champion for a third time, while Dubois will be defending his IBF title for the first time.
The 26-year-old Londoner won the interim crown by beating Filip Hrgovic in June after former undisputed champion Oleksandr Usyk vacated the title.
Joshua, 34, has won four in-a-row since his consecutive defeats to Oleksandr Usyk in 2021 and 2022, most recently beating former MMA star Francis Ngannou in March.
COLM Murphy and John Cooney have both been confirmed for the ‘York Hall Rumble’ at the popular London venue on October 28.
Murphy has been cruising along so far this year and his three victories have brought his record up to 12-0. His last win was a stoppage success against Jack Turner at the SSE Arena on June 28.
Meanwhile, Cooney ended a busy 2023 with a stoppage win over Irish rival Liam Gaynor to move to 10-0 and next month’s rumble will be his first outing of this year.