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TJ Doheny Prepares Strategy to Defeat “The Monster” and Win Undisputed Championship

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TJ Doheny (left) crushes Kazuki Nakajima en route to a fourth-round knockout victory on June 29, 2023, at Tokyo’s Korakuen Hall. (Photo: Naoki Fukuda)

Not long ago, it seemed as if TJ Doheny’s career was on the decline.

Rising star Sam Goodman defeated him on points, adding his name to Michael Conlan, Ionut Baluta and Daniel Roman as boxers who had defeated Doheny in a four-year span. The road back to the top looked like a long and winding one.

That was last March. Swift forward to today, and Doheny is less than a month away from challenging Ring Magazine and undisputed junior featherweight champion Naoya Inoue (27-0, 24 KOs), who he will face at the Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan on September 3.

So how did Doheny manage to turn his career around?

“I attribute it to being dynamic,” the 37-year-old Irish left-hander, who lives in Sydney, Australia, told The Ring. “I’m in my 30s and I needed the motivation to stay in the gym. It’s tough when you’re on break and there’s nothing to motivate you to train. I’m also a father of four, so I’m a busy man. I have other priorities and commitments in life, so I’m not focused unless I have a fight date. So I think the resurgence has just come from having fight after fight in a row over the last 12 to 18 months.”

Longtime manager Mike Altamura masterminded the recent move that has restored Doheny’s form. He has been sent to Japan three times since last June, scoring three early knockouts against solid opponents. Kazuki Nakajima was considered the top prospect in his home country. He lasted four rounds. Fellow left-hander Japhethlee Llamido was unbeaten. He didn’t hear the bell at the end of the first round. In Inoue’s May-Luis Nery prelim, Filipino Bryl Bayogos only made it to the fourth round with Doheny before being stopped.

Doheny after his victory over Nakajima. (Photo: Naoki Fukuda)

“I did poorly in the Goodman fight, and I think they might have ignored me in Japan, thinking I was an straightforward target,” said Doheny (26-4, 20 KOs), who won the IBF 122-pound belt six years ago against Ryosuke Iwasa at Japan’s famed Korakuen Hall. “Then I went to Japan and bang-bang-bang, I took down three guys in 12 months. And now I’m back and I’m in the game.” [for a] world champion title.”

The continuity of fighting helped Doheny stay fit and focused, improving his performance every day in the gym.

“When we got that Nakajima fight and I knocked him out, we knew right then that we had a deal to come back to Japan,” said Doheny, who is ranked No. 7 in the 122-pound weight class by The Ring. “So that motivated me in the gym; we knew we were going to get the call any day now. Then they put me in the fight with Llamido, a kid that they really put a lot of stock in in Japan because he really put Inoue through his paces in sparring and stuff. I took him down in the round. And then we were hoping we’d get a chance to get a play-in with Inoue or maybe some other opportunity would come up in Japan. That motivated me. You can see what I’m capable of when I’m dynamic and in the gym.”

In a twist of fate, Goodman (19-0, 8 KOs) was scheduled to face Inoue in September, but the undefeated 25-year-old has opted to face Thailand’s Chainoi Worawut in July. The Ring’s No. 4-ranked junior featherweight contender is likely to be the first to take on the winner of the Inoue-Doheny fight, with Altamura lobbying difficult for Doheny to be given the assignment in Japan.

“It’s a dream come true,” Altamura said. “The biggest stage in the sport, for all belts, that’s what every fighter aspires to. The fact that TJ is 37 years elderly and 13 years into his career, he’s got an incredible opportunity.

“He’s been to the top of the mountain before, he had the IBF world title and he had a unification fight [against Daniel Roman] in the past, but this is undoubtedly the most crucial fight of his career, with all the belts, against one of the giants of the welterweight division.

“When you look at the opportunity that came your way, it’s a huge motivation, against all odds, to really make history. And TJ has always been one of those warriors that I work with who thrives on challenges.”

And what a challenge that is. There’s not much you can say about Inoue that hasn’t been said before. He’s a dominant force in the lighter weight classes after winning belts in four different weight classes, including undisputed status and the Ring Magazine bantamweight and junior featherweight championships, while tearing through his opponents.

But not every performance was flawless. In his last fight with Nery, Inoue was forced to leave the canvas in the first round after being floored with a left hand by the Mexican left-hander. Although Inoue was ultimately dominant, knocking Nery down three times before stopping him in the sixth round, he showed a occasional weakness in The Ring’s No. 2 pound-for-pound boxer.

Doheny watched with interest from the ring.

“I took away from that, he’s just human,” Doheny said. “It shows you that nobody’s perfect; anybody can get knocked down. Of course we’re going to go in there looking for a knockout, just like he’s going to go in there looking for a knockout. But we’re going to do it intelligently. I’m not just going to go out there and hope for the best; that’s not going to work.”

“I think I bring a different kind of challenge than Inoue’s previous opponents. The last two were left-handed, but if you look at their records, they were professional bantamweights. I’m a professional super bantamweight, and it’s no secret that I’m large for my weight, so I have that power and everyone knows about my punching power. I bring those attributes to the ring.

“In terms of preparation, I just need to get in the best physical shape possible and then we’ll see how the fight goes.”

Altamura makes no secret of the importance of the fight and the challenge his boxer faces. A victory for Doheny would be on par with Buster Douglas’ victory over Mike Tyson in the Tokyo Dome 34 years ago. But Altamura is cautiously bullish that Doheny and his trainer, Hector Bermudez, have come up with the right game plan to defeat the man known as “The Monster.”

“We are confident in this fight because I know we have the better puncher out of the two of them and I know he will be stronger than Inoue when they get in the ring,” Altamura said.

“TJ will have to deactivate some of Inoue’s weapons, he’s very vigorous on the offensive end and has a really good set of moves. He’s very quick on his feet, but he doesn’t move his head much. I think TJ will have opportunities to counter him and get him into shots, but he has to be really focused on the game plan.”

“I think Hector Bermudez – who to me is one of the greatest coaches in world boxing – has the right formula and the right game plans to be effective against Inoue, so I can’t wait to see how that plays out on September 3.”

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Tyson’s conqueror, Danny Williams, was “never considered” for Morrison

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Kenzie Morrison Danny Williams

World Boxing News has learned that Danny Williams was never considered for a fight against Tommy Morrison’s son Kenzie on November 9.

WBN has learned from a source that Williams was scheduled to face Morrison next month when he returns to action at Firelake Arena in Shawnee. However, promoter Tony Holden confirmed what WBN initially reported, namely that Williams had been offered for the fight.

BoxRec also briefly placed Williams within Morrison’s record on November 9, before removing the former British champion. Williams famously knocked out Mike Tyson in 2004, but has since lived off his victory despite losing his British license more than a decade ago.

Holden, who represents Morrison and is looking for an opponent for the competition in three weeks, explained the situation exclusively to WBN.

“I never confirmed William’s story and I never considered him,” Holden said. “I said no when a local promoter suggested it.”

Williams, 51, last fought in August 202, losing for the 33rd time in his career. With 88 professional fights under his belt, Williams seems unable to turn down a payday despite his advanced age.

Morrison, a power puncher who has stopped 19 of his 21 wins, will look for his next conquest elsewhere. The fight with Mike Balogun remains on the table for 2025 after it was postponed from its original October date.

Balogun, who knocked out Kenzi’s brother Trey in the first round, claimed Morrison was pulled from the fight to spare him the loss.

Holden denies this view.

“Even though this post isn’t up to my standards, I’m going to write it anyway. Mike Balogun falsely claimed that I pulled Kenzie Morrison out of the fight because I was afraid he would lose. Please allow me to correct you, Mr. Balogun,” he stated.

“The decision was not made by Kenzie. Let’s raise the stakes and make it fascinating. If you emerge victorious this month, Kenzie will fight in November.

“We may decide this early next year. If your confidence remains unshaken, we can place a significant bet. Watch Kenzie take revenge on her brother and end your career.

Balogun, a former San Francisco 49ers linebacker, responded to Holden by increasing his salary for a potential collision next year.

“No matter how fair and honorable your decision was, just remember that ‘yesterday’s price is not today’s price,’” said the 2010 undrafted pick.

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Andrew Moloney is confident that if given the chance, he would have beaten Phumelele Cafu and Kosei Tanaka

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Andrew Moloney (left) attacks Pedro Guevara – photo: Mikey Williams/Top Rank

Few people were more disappointed than Andrew Moloney when Kosei Tanaka lost his WBO super flyweight belt to Phumelele Cafu at the Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan on Monday night.

The 33-year-old Australian veteran was hoping to get a shot at beating Tanaka in the lucrative Japanese market.

Those dreams were dashed when South Africa’s Cafu delivered the performance of his life, knocking out Tanaka in the fifth round and finishing the fight strongly, beating the four-weight world champion by split decision.

“The plan was to target the WBO and really chase the Tanaka fight, but it all fell apart on Monday night,” Moloney (26-4-1NC, 16 KO) told The Ring. “I think the WBO is probably still the direction we go, but I’m not sure if they have a rematch clause or if Tanaka will take it. But after watching the fight yesterday, I would be really confident that I could fight one of these guys and win. We would like to follow this path.

“I would love to fight Tanaka in Japan as a four-division world champion. He’s definitely someone I’ve looked up to and wanted to fight for a long time.

“Last night was a little hard to watch. The way he performed, I’m more confident than ever that I have what it takes to beat Tanaka.

I assume there will be a rematch and I hope that Tanaka will regain the belt and I will be able to return to the ring and climb the rankings, and maybe this fight will still happen.

Tanaka entered Moloney’s orbit four years ago when he debuted at 115 pounds. Earlier this year, it looked like they were also on a collision course, with Moloney being number one in the WBO rankings. However, when an offer was made for the vacant IBF lightweight title fight between Vasily Lomachenko and George Kambosos Jr. in May in Perth, Western Australia, Moloney felt he couldn’t turn her down.

This decision ended in disaster. Moloney faced Carlos Cuadras, who withdrew from the fight with a ruptured Achilles tendon and was replaced by Pedro Guevara. Moloney entered the fight with a torn bicep and was largely reduced to boxing with one hand, which circumscribed his punching power.

Still, Moloney felt he did more than enough to win, and was shocked when Guevara was declared the winner by split decision. He was so disappointed that he announced immediately after the fight that he was leaving the ring, but a few days later he withdrew these comments.

It was a breakthrough moment in his career.

“Looking back, it’s a wonderful thing, but watching the Tanaka-Cafu fight made me think that maybe I would do a lot of things if I could turn back time a little bit,” Moloney explained.

“Before my last fight, I was number one in the WBO rankings and I rejected the option of waiting to fight Tanaka. But the opportunity arose to fight Guevara in Australia for the interim WBC title on a major card, and to be candid, I kind of regretted that the Tanaka fight was hanging in the balance, but ultimately we decided to stay busy and take the opportunity to fight in Australia.

“Also, the injury before the fight was another thing I thought about: will I undergo surgery, keep the top spot and wait for Tanaka, but I made the decision to go ahead with the fight with Guevara. Looking back now, maybe it wasn’t the smartest thing to do. And looking at the way Tanaka fought last night, I thought maybe I should have waited. I’m sure I could beat Tanaka and take the belt away from him.

“So I take some consolation, but unfortunately you can’t turn back time.”

It’s been a frustrating year for Moloney, but he’s still hitting the gym and his team is working to get him another fight. The window of opportunity to box again this year is closing quickly, but he still hopes to return to the ring in December, most likely in his native Australia.

“I really hope so,” he said. “That’s what I’ve been working on. I have been training strenuous at the gym for some time, quite a few months. I hope to return before the end of the year.

“At this stage it will probably be December. I’m trying to block something, but so far no luck. I’m still training away as if the fight was to take place in December, the team is currently working on it and I’m keeping my fingers crossed that we’ll be able to finish it.

“I just hope we can get out before the end of the year, get back into the winner’s circle and start climbing the rankings again.”

Moloney, who fought at bantamweight for the first three years of his professional career before dropping down to super flyweight, surprisingly, said he would even consider moving up to another weight class given the right opportunity.

“It’s a tough time in the super flyweight division,” said Moloney, the eighth challenger to The Ring’s 115-pound title. “There’s a lot going on and it’s always strenuous to plan which route to take because everything changes so quickly. I’d pick Bam Rodriguez to beat Guevara, then there’s talk of a rematch between Kazuto Ioka and Fernando Martinez on Up-to-date Year’s Eve. And then there’s talk of Bama, if they win, fighting the winner of that game in unification. The WBO seems to me the fastest way to win the title, so that’s the path we will follow.

“We have also rejected for some time the idea of ​​moving up to flyweight and getting crack there. There’s also some engaging scene going on there right now, but it’s still uncertain. I’d probably feel a little better at super flyweight, but we’ll have to wait and see what happens with Cafu and Tanaka, but like I said, I’d feel comfortable and confident against either of them, so hopefully he can make it it will happen sooner rather than later.”

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Doubts that fuel 19-year-old Benjamin Johnson

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Despite an impressive amateur resume, welterweight Benjamin Johnson of Springdale, Maryland, enters the professional ring with a shoulder injury.

Johnson will face Kevin Pantoja in a four-round fight at Rosecroft Raceway in Fort Washington, Maryland, promoted by his trainer Lamont Roach Snr’s NoXcuses Promotions. The fight will be broadcast on Saturday on ProBox TV.

Johnson, 1-0 (1 KO), spent just 2:23 in the ring in his professional debut, displaying the quick, aggressive hands that won him multiple national titles. However, 19-year-old Johnson feels an advantage, believing he is being overlooked by his NoXcuses Boxing Gym teammates.

Pantoja, 1-1, 27, has never stopped being a professional – Johnson aims to change that.

“People underestimate me,” Johnson said. “It’s been like that since I was an amateur.”

He added that this underestimation increases his motivation in the gym. Johnson is determined to prove his worth not only to himself, but also to those who doubt him or, worse, don’t recognize him. “I never felt like I was recognized as that guy, so I feel like I’m underappreciated,” Johnson said of his amateur and now professional career.

Johnson sees the fight as a key step in his career, compared to feared forward David Benavidez by some teammates and touted by others as one of the most ready-to-fight prospects in the country.

“I train as much as I can,” Johnson said. “It’s about making a statement. The way you win shows people what you’re capable of, and I’m ready to show my best.

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