PHILIP FONG/AFP via Getty Images

Video: Naoya Inoue Beats TJ Doheny via TKO, Stays Undefeated After 7th Round Injury

Adam Wells

Naoya Inoue remains perfect after defeating TJ Doheny via seventh-round TKO to retain the undisputed super bantamweight championship on Tuesday.

The Japanese superstar was dominating Doheny throughout the fight when the challenger appeared to injure his leg or back after taking a combination to the body.

After Doheny started limping around and took a knee in the middle of the ring, the referee waved the fight off to give Inoue the victory.

Inoue took a more methodical approach against Doheny early in the fight before turning it on in the middle rounds.

Boxing insider Dan Rafael posted the judge scorecards, which showed two of the judges gave Inoue five of the first six rounds and the third had it 4-2 Inoue going into the seventh.

In the locker room after the loss, Doheny explained the "muscle right above his hip" was causing problems to the point that he couldn't use his right leg.

Top Rank CEO Bob Arum said after Inoue's victory the plan is for him to defend the undisputed title one more time before the end of this year in Tokyo, then come to Las Vegas for a fight at some point in 2025.

Inoue last fought in the United States in June 2021 when he defeated Michael Dasmariñas at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas.

The 31-year-old Inoue continues to stake his claim as the best pound-for-pound boxer in the world. He is 28-0 with 25 wins via knockout. Each of his last nine wins have all come via knockout or TKO, with only two of those bouts going past the eighth round.

This marked Inoue's second successful defense of the undisputed super bantamweight title. He became the first undisputed champion at that weight class after defeating Marlon Tapales in December 2023.

   

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