‘The Monster’ Naoya Inoue is back in action in September. Inoue, the undisputed super bantamweight champion, will take on TJ Doheny. The 37-year-old bagged the opportunity courtesy of an upset victory over Bryl Bayogos in the undercard of Inoue vs. Luis Nery. Betting odds will have Doheny as a humongous underdog, but boxing fans love an underdog story, particularly if it’s on enemy territory.
TalkSport Boxing Editor revealed the news on X, tweeting, “🥊 ANNOUNCED: Naoya Inoue will defend his undisputed WBA, WBC, IBF & WBO super-bantamweight world titles vs TJ Doheny on Tuesday, Sept 3rd in Tokyo,” with the matchup set to headline the boxing event at the 15,000 capacity Ariake Arena.
Doheny will be banking on his three-fight finishing streak, which is all under four rounds. On the other hand, the undefeated Japanese is on an eight-fight finishing streak. Having an 89% finishing rate, particularly in the super bantamweight division, is no joke. Will Doheny be the one to upset the odds? After all, fights have proved Inoue is invincible.
The Japanese Monster suffered knockdowns before returning to win via KO/TKO. Nonetheless, the storyline around Inoue is when he would move up in weight, eventually fighting Gervonta Davis, a fellow knockout artist.
Is Naoya Inoue Ready for Featherweight? Paul Butler Weighs In
Gervonta Davis recently defended his WBA lightweight title against Frank Martin via knockout. With a 93% finishing rate, many consider Davis an equal to Inoue in pound-for-pound power. However, Paul Butler, a former opponent of Inoue, doesn’t think the matchup between Monster and Tank would happen.
“He’s probably not ready for the featherweights. I do think he would win featherweight titles now, but you’ve got to look at the long run, haven’t you? And that’s what he’ll be looking at. He’ll be looking at defending a few times, and I do think he’ll go up next year,” Butler said in an interview with Seconds Out YouTube channel.
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Is Butler right in his assessment? Is featherweight the limit for the 31-year-old? Inoue doesn’t seem to move up from bantamweight in the foreseeable future.
