Inoue retains super-bantamweight belts after injured opponent quits

MANILA, Philippines – Japanese superstar Naoya Inoue remained the world’s undisputed super-bantamweight champion with a seventh-round technical knockout win over Irish TJ Doheny at the Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan Tuesday.

The end came after Doheny retired due to an apparent injury as Inoue retained the World Boxing Council, International Boxing Federation and World Boxing Organization 122-pound titles.

While being pummeled by Inoue on the ropes 20 seconds into the seventh round, Doheny motioned with his hand to halt the action and turned around, having appeared to injure his hip.

IT'S OVER.#InoueDoheny | @NaoyaInoue_410 pic.twitter.com/sftUzaxr3E

This prompted the referee to wave off the bout and award the victory to Inoue, who kept his perfect record (now 28-0, with 25 knockouts) intact.

Doheny was unable to walk and had to be helped from the ring by his team.

The 31-year-old Inoue, nicknamed "The Monster", was never in trouble against the 37-year-old Doheny, dominating the rounds with power shots to the body and backing down the challenger for most of the bout. 

But Inoue had to be patient against his cautious opponent, until he began to land some big body blows as the fight progressed.

It is Inoue’s ninth straight victory by way of knockout, as the Japanese sensation continued to solidify his status as one of the world’s top pound-for-pound fighters.

He was making his second defense since becoming the undisputed super-bantamweight world champion last December.

Inoue is just the second man to become undisputed world champion at two different weights since the four-belt era began in 2004. American Terence Crawford was the first.

On Tuesday, Inoue was fighting for the first time since he beat Mexico's Luis Nery in front of 55,000 fans at the Tokyo Dome in May.

Doheny, who held the IBF super-bantamweight world title from 2018 to 2019, saw his record drop to 26-5, with 20 KOs. – With a report from AFP