TJ Doheny sees World Title Final Eliminator CANCELLED
Portlaoise super bantamweight TJ Doheny [17(13)-0] has been dealt a blow in his hunt for a world title.
Doheny was due to fight in an IBF world title final eliminator in Russia next month, but has seen the bout in Ekaterinburg cancelled.
The Laois boxer was due to face former IBF featherweight champ Evgeny Gradovich [23(16)-2(2)-1] on Friday December 15th, but the Russian has pulled out due to career-threatening vision problems.
Doheny, ranked third, and Gradovich, ranked sixth, were to fight for the right to become mandatory challenger and face champion Ryosuke Iwasa of Japan in the new year.
‘The Power’ still hopes to fight in an eliminator before year’s end, and his team have gone down the rankings to find the next available opponent.
This looks to be Thailand’s Mike Tawatchi [44(27)-10(2)], ranked seventh, and a meeting between the pair is in the works for Sunday December 24th in China, according to ESPN.
Doheny said that he is “hoping for some good news in the coming days.”
It’s the latest in a series of disappointments for Doheny, who has been on the fringes in recent times, treading water as he awaited a title shot.