‘Weird’ Thai experience has Doheny ready for Japanese world title tilt

Japan is famously a notorious hard place for an away fighters to win.

To this day, Wayne McCullough is still the only Irish or British fighter to claim a World title win in the Land of the Rising Sun.

However, having secured a shot at IBF World champion Ryosuke Iwasa [25(16)-2 (2)]after eliminator victory over Mike Tawatcha  in bizarre circumstances in Thailand TJ Doheny[19(14)-0] claims he hasn’t nothing to fear going to Japan.

‘The Power’ looked to have easily outpointed the hometown fighter in Bangkok last December, yet the result was given as a split decision and describes a ‘weird’ situation that had him worried.

“It was such a weird experience because the referee was coaching him through the rounds and was probably telling him ‘you’re ahead, get up on your bike’. And I was chasing him around and panicking as the rounds were slipping away from me,” told RTE after his St Patrick’s Day stoppage win over Micheal Oliver in Boston.

“It just felt like everyone was against me, the ref, the crowd…he’d swing and miss and the crowd would go crazy, which might have swayed the judges a little bit.”

Having experienced that the Murphy’s boxer claims Japan doesn’t worry him.

“I’ve travelled all over the world as an amateur, I’ve travelled all over the world as a pro, so it doesn’t matter to me.

“If I’m the away fighter, I feel like the pressure is off because it’s not my crowd, I’ve just got to get in there and perform.

“After going through an experience like that, nothing is ever going to be as weird as that again, which gives you peace of mind.”