Naoya Inoue will enter his latest title fight at the heaviest weight of his already legendary career.
The RING and undisputed junior featherweight champion clocked in right at 122 pounds, while TJ Doheny weighed 121 ½ pounds. Their scheduled twelve-round championship contest headlines an ESPN+ show Tuesday from Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan.
Yokohama’s Inoue (27-0, 24 knockouts) has weighed just below the divisional limit for each of his three previous fights at the weight.
The Ring’s No. 2-rated pound-for-pound fighter was 121.7 pounds in his eighth-round knockout of unbeaten Stephen Fulton last July 25. The win came with the WBC and WBO titles as he became a four-division titlist and Japan’s first-ever two-division unified champ. He then weighed 121.6 pounds versus Marlon Tapales, whom he stopped in the tenth round to fully unify the 122-pound division last Dec. 26. With the win, Inoue also earned his second RING championship.
Both fights took place at Ariake Arena. He moved into the Tokyo Dome for the venue’s first boxing event since 1990. Inoue was 121 ¾ pounds for his off-the-canvas, sixth-round knockout of Luis Nery (35-2, 27 KOs) on May 6. Tuesday’s defense versus Doheny will mark his 21st career fight with at least one major title fight at stake. He previously held the WBC 108-pound, WBO 115-pound titles and the RING/undisputed 118-pound championship.
Doheny (26-4, 20 KOs) enters his first title fight in more than five years.
The Irish southpaw—who is based in New South Wales, Australia—previously held the IBF 122-pound title. He won the belt in his first career fight in Japan, when he decisioned Ryosuke Iwasa in Aug. 2018. One successful defense followed before he lost an April 2019 thriller to Daniel Roman in Inglewood, California.
A move up to featherweight produced mixed results, and his return to 122 resulted in a points loss to unbeaten Sam Goodman last March 12 in Sydney. Three wins at the weight have since followed, all in Japan and each ending in knockout. He earned a fourth-round stoppage of Bryl Bayogos (7-0-1 at the time) on the Inoue-Nery undercard in May.
Below are the weights for the rest of the undercard
Yoshiki Takei (9-0, 8 KOs), Yokohama, 117 ¾ pounds
Daigo Higa (21-2-1, 19 KOs), Tokyo, 117 ¾ pounds
12 rounds, for Takei’s WBO bantamweight title
Yoshiki Takei and Daigo Higa bow and shake hands after they each make weight. Photo credit: Naoki Fukuda
Ismael Barroso (25-4-2, 23 KOs), Miami via El Tigre, Venezuela, 140 pounds
Andy Hiraoka (23-0, 18 KOs), Yokohama, 140 pounds
12 rounds, for Barroso’s interim WBA junior welterweight title
Ismael Barroso and Andy Hiraoka face off after making weight. Barroso defends interim WBA 140-pound title on September 3 at Ariake Arena in Tokyo. Yoshiki Takei and Daigo Higa bow and shake hands after they each make weight. Photo credit: Naoki Fukuda
Jin Sasaki (17-1-1, 16 KOs), Tokyo, 146 ¼ pounds
Qamil Balla (15-1-1, 8 KOs), Victoria, Australia, 147 pounds
12 rounds, welterweight
Toshiki Shimomachi (18-1-3, 12 KOs), Osaka, Japan 122 pounds
Ryuya Tsugawa (13-1, 9 KOs), Osaka, 121 3/4 pounds
10 rounds, junior featherweight
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The post Naoya Inoue, TJ Doheny On Weight For RING 122-Pound Championship In Tokyo appeared first on The Ring.
