Naoya Inoue vs TJ Doheny: Inoue’s pound-for-pound status and other key questions ahead of undisputed clash

The outstanding undisputed champion Naoya Inoue returns to action on Tuesday, live on Sky Sports.

Who’s fighting?

Naoya Inoue will box TJ Doheny for the undisputed super-bantamweight world championship at the Ariake Arena in Tokyo on Tuesday September 3.

Inoue is a two-weight undisputed champion who holds the IBF, WBO, WBC and WBA titles at 122lbs.

Irishman Doheny is based in Australia and, a former IBF titlist, was once a super-bantamweight world champion himself.

What’s on the undercard?

The chief support bout is an all-Japanese world title fight, with Yoshiki Takei fighting Daigo Higa for the WBO bantamweight championship.

Both are hard punchers, while 19 of Higa’s 21 wins have come inside the distance. While comparatively inexperienced, Takei is undefeated, with an impressive 9-0 (8) record. In that short pro career Takei has already beaten Jason Moloney to win the WBO belt.

Yokohama’s undefeated Andy Hiraoka boxes Ismael Barroso in a WBA super-lightweight eliminator. Plus Jin Sasaki vs Qamil Balla and Toshiki Shimomachi vs Ryuya Tsugawa are also on the show.

Where can I watch it?

The bill live starts at 7.30am on Sky Sports+ and Sky Sports Main Event on Tuesday morning.

The main event ringwalks are expected at around 12.15pm.

Is Inoue the pound-for-pound No 1?

Pound-for-pound rankings are subjective, essentially an estimation of who is the best fighter in the world at any weight.

There are generally three men viewed as contenders for that accolade. Terence Crawford, Oleksandr Usyk and Naoya Inoue have all achieved the rare feat of becoming two-weight undisputed kings.

Crawford staggered with his domination of pound-for-pound rival Errol Spence last year but has been fairly inactive since.

Time after time Inoue has demolished top-level opponents through multiple weights.

But Usyk might now be edging ahead of the others. As well as beating all comers at cruiserweight, Usyk also holds victories over Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury at heavyweight, both of whom are elite fighters and both considerably bigger than the Ukrainian.

The Transnational Boxing Rankings Board, which is an independent ratings group, has Usyk as their pound-for-pound world No 1, and Inoue in at No 2.

Could Doheny upset Inoue?

Trying to defeat Naoya Inoue is about as tricky an assignment as there is in world boxing. But Doheny will be hoping Nery exposed a previously unseen vulnerability when he became the first fighter to drop Inoue last time out.

Doheny is now 37 years old, so his career is coming to an end and he has lost four times in his 30-bout career. No one has found a way to beat Inoue as a pro, and none of his opponents have really come close to upsetting him, that brief success Nery enjoyed not withstanding.

But Doheny is a southpaw, like Nery, and as a sign of the pop in his punching, he’s taken 20 of his 26 victories inside the distance.

He’s experienced and notably is 3-0 against Japanese boxers and 4-0 on Japanese soil. Doheny dethroned IBF super-bantamweight world champion Ryosuke Iwasa there in August 2018. He defended the belt against Japanese challenger Ryohei Takahashi via an 11th-round TKO and his last three bouts, all victories, have all been in Japan.

Inoue for his part though will be looking to become the first man to halt Doheny and continue his run of stunning performances.

Watch undisputed champion Naoya Inoue vs TJ Doheny live on Sky Sports on September 3

Boxing coming up on Sky Sports

Naoya Inoue vs TJ Doheny – Undisputed super-bantamweight title (September 3)

Jaime Munguia vs Erik Bazinyan – Super-middleweight bout (September 21)

Anthony Joshua vs Daniel Dubois – IBF heavyweight title (September 21 on Sky Sports Box Office)

Takuma Inoue vs Seiya Tsutsumi – WBA bantamweight title (October 13)

Junto Nakatani vs Tasana Salapat – WBC bantamweight title (October 14)