Naoya Inoue-TJ Doheny Scheduled for September 3rd at Ariake Arena in Tokyo

One of the sport’s best is set for his second fight of the year.

Naoya Inoue will face TJ Doheny on September 3, Top Rank officially announced Monday night. Their scheduled 12-round fight will be the main event of Lemino/ESPN+ from the Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan.

Inoue is The Ring’s No. 1 contender. 2 pound-for-pound and reigning Fighter of the Year.

“He’s amazing,” Arum told The Ring on Friday afternoon. “He is unbelievable. I think he will go down in history as one of the greats. I’ve never seen any guy (with Inoue’s stature), with the kind of punching power he has. He’s a good boxer, but he’s an amazing puncher. And it’s a special thing to see. And you see what kind of character he has. In his last fight, he was knocked down in the first round, got back up, and destroyed his opponent.”

Top Rank announced the event as an undisputed tournament. However, the WBA has yet to reconsider his decision to defend his previously ordered mandatory title against Murodjon Akhmadaliev.

Inoue (27-0, 24 knockouts) will take out Tijuana’s Luis Nery in the sixth round on May 6 at the famed Tokyo Dome. There was also a brief scare, as Inoue was down in the opening round. The 31-year-old from Yokohama recovered and knocked down Nery (35-2, 27 KOs) three times before claiming the title.

In his last fight on December 26, Inoue fully consolidated the 122-pound division after being knocked out in the tenth round by Marlon Tapales of the Philippines.

The 31-year-old player also received a knockout defeating Stephen Fulton last July 25. Back-to-back victories over the combined 122-pound divisions were enough to secure Fighter of the Year honors for ‘The Monster.’

Inoue is also Ring Magazine’s undisputed champion at 118 pounds. He previously won world titles at 108 and 115 pounds.

Since a close and competitive decision win over former junior bantamweight and bantamweight world titleholder Nonito Donaire in December 2019, Inoue has stopped his last eight opponents.

Despite being a Hall of Famer, Arum believes Inoue can still win world titles and join the ranks of the few considered the best in the sport.

“I’ve been to many of Inoue’s fights, both in Japan and during the United States pandemic,” said Arum, who promoted his first fight card in March 1966. “I enjoy seeing him fight. I think you are a real person, a real feeling. I mean, something, maybe, the best fighter of our era. I don’t want to get into a fight if he’s better than Floyd (Mayweather), even if he’s better than (Manny) Pacquiao. But he’s definitely up there with them all.”
Mayweather and Pacquiao were promoted by Top Rank.

Doheny (26-4, 20 KOs), originally from Portlaois, Ireland and now based in Bondi Junction, Australia, fought again on the same May 6 card that Inoue fought, stopping undefeated Bryl Bayogos in the fourth round. In his last fight on October 31, Doheny stopped another undefeated boxer, Japhethlee Llamido, in the opening round.

The 37-year-old southpaw has won his last three fights since losing to Sam Goodson on March 12 last year.
Doheny held the IBF world title at 122 kilograms, losing the belt in a unification world title fight to then WBA junior featherweight Danny Roman in April 2019.

Also in the show:

• Yoshiki Takei (9-0, 8 KOs) will defend his WBO bantamweight title against Daigo Higa (21-2-1, 9 KOs) in an all-Japan bout.
• Ismael Barroso (25-4-2, 23 KOs)—a Venezuelan based in Miami—will defend his interim WBA 140-pound title against Japan’s Andy Hiraoka (23-0, 18 KOs).

The card will be promoted by Ohashi Promotions and Top Rank.

Francisco A. Salazar has written for The Ring since October 2013 and has handled boxing in Southern California and internationally since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (California) Star newspaper. They can be reached at [email protected]

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