Doheny forced to quit with back injury
Japanese boxing superstar Naoya Inoue remains the undisputed world super-bantamweight champion after Portlaoise challenger TJ Doheny dropped to his knee and quit in the seventh round of yesterday’s bout because of an apparent back injury.
Doheny complained of a twinge after walking back to his corner gingerly. Before then, he was getting battered by Inoue, who celebrated his technical knockout – for a 28th successive win – in muted fashion in Tokyo.
Inoue’s pressure and relentless body work started getting its rewards from the sixth round, and Doheny’s face was marked by the end of the fight. The 37-year-old challenger wound up limping away from the ring, propped up on both sides by his team.
“This fight didn’t end how we expected, but fighting a long career like this, this is a night we might have,” said Inoue
This was the 31-year-old Inoue’s 23rd world title fight since his first in 2014. Inoue, a four-division world champion, didn’t have it all his own way against Doheny, who made the bout awkward with his sharp movements and experience.
Laois’s Doheny might even have won the third round after a powerful punch to the body and then a left-right combination to Inoue’s head.
But in round four, he was getting trapped on the ropes and picked off by Inoue and the pressure told in the sixth when in the final seconds Doheny clutched the bottom of his back. The fight was over 16 seconds into the seventh when Doheny wriggled free from a flurry of punches before saying he couldn’t continue. He left the ring in clear pain and without conducting an interview.