In the run-up to his 23rd consecutive world title fight, Naoya Inoue told reporters that he believes he can develop into an even better boxer.
Already, though, astute observers have insisted for years he's virtually invincible in the ring.
Inoue has shown again and again that he has an innate ability to seize the moment in a fight. Exhibit A: His victory over TJ Doheny via a seventh-round technical knockout on Tuesday night, September 3 at Tokyo's Ariake Arena.
The sixth round produced the moment of truth. In that 3-minute stretch of the super bantamweight title fight (the WBC, WBA, WBO and IBF belts were on the line), Inoue, 31, overwhelmed his 37-year-old Irish opponent with his fists. The Japanese superstar displayed lethal precision and landed 32 punches (he attempted 61) to Doheny's 10, according to CompuBox.
Toward the end of Round 6, Inoue (28-0, 25 knockouts) unleashed a flurry of pinpoint blows. It was the culmination of the most impressive round of boxing for either participant on this night.
At the start of the seventh round, the champion continued his aggressive attack, hitting his foe four times, including a vicious left hook, in rapid succession.
Doheny Unable to Continue
But Doheny (26-5, 20 KOs), holding his back and, clearly, in pain, raised his left arm 16 seconds into the round, signaling that he could fight no more. As a result, referee Bence Kovacs declared the bout was finished.
Doheny walked out of the ring with the assistance of two individuals.
The former IBF champion had sustained a sciatic nerve injury in the sixth round, his trainer Hector Bermudez told reporters after the fight.
Bermudez added that after seeing a doctor Doheny "is doing fine now."
'Another Great Performance' for Naoya Inoue
Legendary boxing promoter Bob Arum, 92, president of Top Rank, Inc, attended the fight and spoke in the ring after Inoue sealed the victory, calling it "another great performance."
Arum has a working partnership with Hideyuki Ohashi, president of Ohashi Boxing Gym, where "Monster" Inoue regularly trains.
According to Arum, who teams up with Ohashi to promote the fighter, plans are already underway for Inoue's next two bouts.
"I understand he'll be coming back here to Tokyo to defend his title again at the end of the year and then we're taking him to the United States for a big celebration in Las Vegas," Arum said as the celebratory mood of the crowd permeated throughout the arena.
Australia's Sam Goodman or Uzbekistan's Murodjon Akhmadaliev appear to be the likely candidate for Inoue's next fight.
Effective Fight Tactics Against Doheny
In the immediate aftermath of his latest triumph, Inoue didn't blurt out specific details about upcoming fights. Instead, he looked back on his hard-earned win with pride.
Citing the abrupt end to the fight, Inoue commented that he felt the deciding factor was "the accumulation of damage that I gave to him."
The proof was in the numbers. Inoue landed 52% (64 of 123) of his power punches. His effective jab set the tone for his overall fighting arsenal. He landed 29 jabs to Doheny's 11.
Quicker on his feet and more effective in his defensive posture than Doheny, Inoue was an elusive moving target. Doheny only landed 14.3% of his jabs. For Inoue, it was 37.2%.
Although Doheny had periodic bursts of quality punch combinations (and attempted more punches than Inoue in the third and fifth rounds), it wasn't enough to disrupt Inoue's timing or overall command of the ring.
What's more, rapid-fire body shots from Monster in the closing seconds of several rounds appeared to take a physical toll on Doheny.
In addition, the end of the pivotal sixth round and the start of the seventh round provided a superb snapshot of Inoue's career. He's always found a way to win, relying on an array of tactics.
Six quick punches punctuated Inoue's determined effort to close out the sixth round. His in-control fighting kicked off Round 7.
When it was over, Inoue summed up his approach this way: "I wanted to make sure I fought a carefully structured fight."
He added that the fight didn't end the way he had expected.
Inoue Finds His Rhythm and Neutralizes Doheny
On this reporter's fight scorecard, Inoue held a 59-55 advantage in points entering the seventh round, with Doheny winning only the third round.
But it wasn't a completely one-sided showdown.
Hitting Inoue on the chin on multiple occasions in the third round, for example, and landing other combinations in the fourth and fifth, Doheny was not a passive participant. But to conquer Inoue the Irishman needed to deliver more power punches.
Instead, Inoue found his rhythm as the fight progressed and capitalized on Doheny's shortcomings. As always, the potency of Inoue's punches was one of this fight's trademarks, particularly in the latter rounds.
"Boxing isn't easy. It's not a sport where you can defeat your opponent just by going for the knockout," Inoue was quoted as saying by Kyodo News. "I made sure to understand the fight well and structure my boxing accordingly."
Following his first fight since a sixth-round TKO of Luis Nery on May 6 at Tokyo Dome, Inoue reminded the crowd that his desire to keep improving as a boxer is an ever-present goal.
"To all the fans around the world, thank you so much for watching this fight," Inoue said. "This is not everything that I have, I still have a long way to go. I am still in progress and today's match I want to celebrate especially how TJ Doheny brought the fight into this ring and his career."
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Author: Ed Odeven
Find Ed on JAPAN Forward's dedicated website, SportsLook. Follow his [Japan Sports Notebook] on Sundays, [Odds and Evens] during the week, and X (formerly Twitter) ＠ed_odeven.
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