Naoya Inoue weighed in at 122 lbs, whereas his opponent, TJ Doheny, got here in at 121.5 kilos throughout Monday’s weigh-in for his or her conflict on Tuesday, September third, on the Ariake Enviornment in Tokyo, Japan. Watch dwell on ESPN+ at 5:45 a.m. ET.
Inoue (27-0, 24 KOs) has made a mistake by selecting to remain at 122 and defend his undisputed tremendous bantamweight title in opposition to the soon-to-be 38-year-old Doheny (26-4, 20 KOs) as a result of there’s little or no curiosity on this mismatch.
Followers Bored with Inoue’s “Protected” Matchups
There’s not a lot curiosity from followers in the USA for the Inoue vs. Doheny battle for apparent causes, on condition that it’s seen as one more instance of Naoya’s unwillingness to step it up in opposition to gifted opposition.
Followers within the U.S. have grown bored with watching Inoue take lesser opposition. They view Naoya as a fighter who’s being fastidiously matched and refrained from the killers at 126, who would finish his reign.
In different phrases, Inoue is being propped up with matchmaking, holding him in a lifeless division that’s protected from the teaming sharks within the 126-lb division that might see the Japanese star as meals.
The outdated grizzled veteran TJ Doheny has carried out nothing to fee a world title shot, other than being three tomato cans to resurrect his profession.
Doheny is seen as a washed-up fighter who has been on a steep decline for 4 years since 2020. Followers don’t perceive why Inoue is combating the 37-year-old Doheny quite than transferring as much as featherweight [126] to check himself in opposition to the killers in that weight class.
Some followers consider that Naoya Inoue is afraid to maneuver as much as 126 to battle these gifted fighters:
- Bruce Carrington
- Rafael Espinoza
- Angelo Leo
- Rey Vargas
- Nick Ball
- Robeisy Ramirez
- Brandon Figueroa
Issues shall be very totally different for the 31-year-old ‘Monster’ Inoue at featherweight if he strikes up from the protection of the tremendous bantamweight division, which is well-stocked with restricted, easy-mark fighters who aren’t a menace to the Japanese star.
A Struggle with No That means
The Irish native TJ Doheny misplaced three out of 4 fights from 2020 to 2023, and the one manner he’s pulled out of this downward spin is because of the weak match-making his administration has carried out for him, feeding him these three fighters:
– Bryl Bayogos
– Japhethlee Llamido
– Kazuki Nakajima
If the concept is for Inoue to avenge the losses of his fellow countrymen by beating Doheny for revenge, it’s a waste of his profession. These guys that Doheny beat would lose to anybody within the high 50, and, sadly, his administration has resorted to matching him in opposition to these sorts of fighters to maintain his sinking profession above the waterline.
