‘F**king loving in there’ – TJ Doheny breaks silence after Naoya Inoue defeat
TJ Doheny said he was loving every moment of his fight with the pound-for-pound star Naoya Inoue and was gutted he had to bow out early.
‘The Power’ was well in the fight, competitive against arguably the greatest fighter on the planet at present over the first six rounds.
However, he was eventually stopped in the seventh of the Undisputed super bantamweight world title fight. The Japanese power puncher’s bodywork took its toll and forced the Irish star to retire injured. The Aussie-based Portlaoise native admits he was ‘gutted’ to bow out in such fashion but does take solace in the fact he asked questions of ‘The Monster’.
Speaking online a week after his defeat in Japan, the 37-year-old said:
“Had to give myself a week to reflect on the fight. First off, congrats to Naoya Inoue on your win and putting in another elite level performance. Thank you for presenting me with the opportunity in what was by far the biggest moment in my career.
“Such a shame that it ended early as I was fucking loving it in there. I had some real shining moments against a generational talent when absolutely nobody gave me a chance. Gutted to bow out of a fight in that fashion as it’s not in my nature (my career has proven that) but I just could not generate any power or push off on my right leg.”
Expanding on the finish he said: “The injury came at the end of the 6th with a powerful bodyshot from the champion. Even so, I still got off that stool for the 7th round to bite down and have another go but I just couldn’t. After watching it back I can see there were 2 times where I tried to let my hands go at the start of the round but my body said no and had to raise my hand and call it off.”
Doheny also revealed the fight won’t be his last.
Many felt the former IBF world champion would exit stage left post the victory but he revealed he has been inspired to fight on.
“Definitely not the end of the road for me especially after a performance like that. As soon as I heal up I’ll be back in there doing what I love.”
