Naoya “The Monster” Inoue will make defense former world champion TJ Doheny
Naoya “The Monster” Inoue will make defense number two of his undisputed super bantamweight crown against former world champion TJ Doheny on Tuesday, Sept. 3, at Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan.
This special five-fight extravaganza will stream live and exclusively in the U.S. on ESPN+ starting at 2:30 a.m. ET.
In the co-feature, WBO bantamweight world champion Yoshiki Takei (9-0, 8 KOs) will make his first title defense against former WBC flyweight champion Daigo Higa (21-2-1, 19 KOs).
Inoue (27-0, 24 KOs), the four-division world champion and pound-for-pound mainstay, has made Ariake Arena his boxing home in recent years.
It’s the venue where he knocked out Paul Butler to win the undisputed bantamweight world title in December 2022, stopped then-unified super bantamweight champion Stephen Fulton title in July 2023, and dominated Marlon Tapales over 10 rounds last December to become the undisputed super bantamweight king.
Doheny (26-4, 20 KOs) is 4-0 when fighting on Japanese soil, including May’s knockout of Bryl Bayogos on the Inoue-Luis Nery undercard at Tokyo Dome.