Select: Naoya Inoue-TJ Doheny

When to watch: Tuesday, September 3, 5:45 a.m. Eastern Time (10:45 a.m. UK Time)

How to watch: ESPN+

Why it’s worth watching: Boxing is a brutal enough sport. We as boxing fans — well, we as people in general — can be particularly heartless.

It dates back thousands of years. Crowds would fill stadiums to watch gladiators try to fend off — before ultimately being fed — lions. Today, we’ll see how some horror characters succumb to their circumstances while a select few survive.

Next Tuesday, early morning, we’ll tune in to the boxing version of a potential ritual sacrifice; a squash match broadcast from the Ariake Arena in Tokyo. TJ Doheny will try to ruin the odds, but he’s up against a monster, or rather “The Monster,” in Naoya Inoue.

Inoue, 31, from Yokohama, Japan, is the undisputed champion at 122 pounds. He was previously the undisputed champion at 118 pounds, and also held titles at 115 pounds and 108 pounds. He is undefeated; pound for pound, one of the best in the world. Doheny is — well, no.

Inoue (27-0, 24 KOs) is coming off another of his impressive campaigns, moving up to junior featherweight in July 2023 to surprisingly easily defeat unified champion Stephen Fulton. Inoue then knocked out Marlon Tapales in December to claim the division’s two remaining major world titles, and returned in May to dispatch one of the top remaining contenders, Luis Nery, via sixth-round technical knockout.

Other names in the 122-pound division include Murodjon Akhmadaliev – who narrowly lost his titles to Tapales in 2023 – John Riel Casimero and rising stars like Liam Davies, Sam Goodman and Elijah Pierce. Given what Inoue has done recently, he could be forgiven for what is seen as an easier outing – a way to keep himself occupied before he returns to the fray.

Doheny (26-4, 20 KOs) isn’t bad at all. He’s ranked #7 in the weight class according to The Ring AND #10 by Transnational Boxing Rankings BoardHowever, the 37-year-old — originally from Ireland and currently based in Australia — is not expected to pose a stern challenge to Inoue.

Doheny once held the title in the weight class, holding the IBF belt for eight months from August 2018, when he defeated Ryosuke Iwasa on points, until April 2019, when he lost a majority decision to Daniel Roman. More setbacks followed, including two consecutive featherweight losses to Ionut Baluta and Michael Conlan. And in March 2023, Doheny returned to 122 pounds and lost a wide decision to Goodman.

Since then, Doheny has had at least a few decent wins—all early evening, all in Japan. He stopped Kazuki Nakajima (14-1-1) in four rounds, Japhethlee Llamido (11-0) in one round, and, in the fight preceding Inoue-Nery, Bryl Bayogos (7-0-1) in four.

“TJ is a very worthy opponent” Doheny’s manager Sean Gibbons recently told BoxingScene“He’s got a lot of history in Japan and he peaked at the right time. I think he’s going to surprise people. Inoue’s never really been hit because he’s so good. TJ brings a lot to the table and he’s got to try and pummel him and rip him because he’s not going to outbox him. He’s got nothing to lose. He’s going to come in relaxed and comfortable.”

Gladiator will either be the winner or the dinner. Either way, to quote Russell Crowe’s film – aren’t we having fun?

The broadcast will also feature another title fight, as Yoshiki Takei defends his WBO bantamweight title for the first time against Daigo Higa.

Takei, 28, is 9-0 (8 KOs). He won the title in May with a unanimous decision win over Jason Moloney.

Higa, 29, is 21-2-1 (19 KOs). He previously held the vacant WBC flyweight title, winning the vacant belt with a technical knockout of Juan Hernandez Navarrete in May 2017. Higa defended the title twice before moving up in weight in April 2018 to fight Cristofer Rosales, who stopped Higa in the ninth round. Higa then moved up to 118 pounds. He suffered his second defeat in 2021, when he was defeated on points by Ryosuke Nishida, who has since won the IBF title. Higa has since won four in a row.

This fight is worth watching, especially considering the intrigue in the bantamweight division. All four world champions hail from Japan – with Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez in the division looking to make one last fight, Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez one division down and Inoue, of course, one division up.

More fights to watch

Thursday, September 5: Arthur Biyarslanov-Tamas Kiliti (ESPN+ and Punching Grace)

Biyarslanov is an undefeated junior welterweight prospect from Russia who currently fights in Canada. The 29-year-old is 15-0 (13 KOs) and will be stopping for the third time in 2024. In March, he stopped 33-13-2 Cristian Palma in three rounds and in June, 14-5 Elias Mauricio Haedo in four rounds.

Kiliti is a delayed replacement opponent announced days before the fight. Kiliti, a 29-year-old from Hungary, is 10-0 (6 KOs). He last fought at lightweight, so he’ll move up a weight class to face Biyarslanov. Kiliti’s last win came in May, a decision victory over Miguel Cesario Antin (20-14-1). Kiliti replaces Marcos Villasana — a 33-year-old from Acapulco, Mexico — who had to withdraw due to “logistical issues,” according to his promoter. Villasana (28-7, 15 KOs) would be fighting for the first time since November 2022.

The preliminary card will also feature Imam Khataev (7-0, 7 KOs) – a featherlight heavyweight contender who won a bronze medal at the 2020 Olympics – versus Ezequiel Maderna (31-12, 21 KOs), as well as Mary Spencer (8-2, 6 KOs) versus Naomi Mannes (7-2-1, 4 KOs) for the WBA interim junior middleweight title.

Friday, September 6: Kevin Hayler Brown-John Bauza (DAZN)

Hayler Brown, a junior welterweight contender from Cuba, regularly fights at the Caribe Royale Orlando in Florida. The 30-year-old, who currently resides in Las Vegas, is 5-0 (3 KOs). In May, Hayler Brown he came out of the ring and won a split decision against Idalberto Umara.

Bauza, 26, is from Puerto Rico and currently lives in North Bergen, Novel Jersey. He is 18-1 (8 KOs). That loss came in February 2023, when Bauza was knocked down twice and knocked down by Richardson Hitchins. After nearly 14 months off, Bauza returned in March, knocking out Willmanek Canonico Brito (12-4-2) in the first round.

Friday, September 6: Jose Zepeda-Ivan Redkach (DAZN)

The main event at the Pechanga Resort Casino in Temecula, California will be a fight between two junior welterweights whose careers may be coming to an end – the winner of this bout will delay the inevitable a little longer.

Zepeda, a 35-year-old out of Los Angeles, is 37-5 (28 KOs). He is a former title contender who has been involved in three title fights — losses to Terry Flanagan, Jose Ramirez and Regis Prograis — and is coming off a Fight of the Year win over Ivan Baranchyk. Zepeda has lost three of his last four, starting with an 11th-round loss to Prograis, a decision loss to Richardson Hitchins in September 2023 and a fifth-round knockout loss to Dalton Smith in March.

Redkach, a 38-year-old from Ukraine currently residing in Los Angeles, has a record of 24-7-1 (19 KOs). Those losses have come to Dejan Zlaticanin, Tevin Farmer, Argenis Mendez, John Molina Jr., Danny Garcia, Prograis and most recently fifth round with a thud from Batyrzhan Jukembayev in May.

While all of their losses have come to large names, both men are clearly on the decline. The winner could end up as the B-side, hoping to secure another upset. The loser will hopefully see the writing on the wall.

Friday, September 6: Sam Noakes-Gianluca Ceglia (TNT Sports 1)

The show from York Hall in London will feature Noakes, an undefeated lightweight prospect from Maidstone, England. The 27-year-old defeated Yvan Mendy in April to improve to 14-0 (13 KOs).

Ceglia, a 34-year-old from Italy, is 21-4-1 (4 KOs), having won four in a row since losing a decision to Mendy in 2022.

Saturday, September 7: Thammanoon Niyomtrong-Alex Winwood (7plus)

Niyomtrong — also known as Knockout CP Freshmart — is a long-time WBA 105-pound titleholder dating back to his June 2016 win over Byron Rojas. He has since defended the title 11 times and has a record of 24-0 (9 KOs). Somehow, the 33-year-old from Thailand still holds the WBA belt, despite last defending it in July 2022, when he defeated former titleholder Chayappon Moonsri — also known as Wanheng Menayothin — on points

Winwood, 27, hails from Western Australia, meaning he’ll be fighting in front of a home crowd at the HBF Arena in Joondalup. Winwood competed in the 2020-21 Olympics, turned pro in delayed 2022 and is 4-0 as a pro. All but one of his fights have been over the 105-pound limit — including his most recent outing, a December 2023 decision over 20-5 Cris Ganoza. Tom Gerbasi of BoxingScene has an engaging article about Winwood here.

Saturday, September 7: Elliot Whale-Lloyd Germain (DAZN)

Whale and Germain are British welterweights who will headline the event at the Brentwood Centre in Brentwood, England.

Whale, 27, from Sidcup, Kent, England, is 10-0 (6 KOs). In April, he knocked out Joseba Diaz 7-1 in five rounds.

German, 34, from Cardiff, Wales, is 9-1 (1 KO), a loss that came in his last fight in January when he was knocked down three times in the third round by Conah Walker.

Saturday, September 7: Kevin Walsh-Irvin Gonzalez (Swerve.TV)

It’s a junior lightweight fight between Walsh (13-0, 6 KOs) and Gonzalez (16-4, 12 KOs) that will headline the Foxwoods Resort Casino in Mashantucket, Connecticut.

Both fighters are from Novel England. Walsh, 31, hails from Brockton, Mass. He was last seen in May, when he knocked out Tackie Annan (15-11) in two rounds. Gonzalez, 28, hails from Worcester. His last fight was a 24-second victory over Rodolfo Hernandez Montoya (30-15-1) in November.

Gonzalez has some recognizable names on his belt, with losses to Elijah Pierce (TKO3 in 2019), Toka Kahn Clary (UD10 in 2019) and Edward Vazquez (SD8 in 2020; Vazquez would later challenge Joe Cordina for the junior lightweight title).