Doheny has his eyes on Roman bout after stopping Takahashi
TJ DOHENY could face WBA champion Danny Roman in a lucrative world superbantamweight title unification bout as early as April after making a successful first defence of his IBF belt in Madison Square Garden’s Hulu theatre on Friday night.
The Portlaoise native completely out-classed Ryohei Takahashi, stopping the Japanese challenger in the 11th round to bring his professional record to 21-0 (15 KOs). Immediately afterwards, Doheny claimed that he wants a shot at the American WBA champion.
‘That’s the fight I want next, that’s what we are all in it for,’ said the 32-year-old, who has recently joined Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom stable that also promotes Roman, who joined Doheny in the ring after his bout to make a verbal agreement.
‘Danny Roman is a great fighter. He’s got the WBA belt, I have got the IBF belt. Let’s get it on Eddie [Hearn]. You got the orders from the fighters. Let’s make it happen – let’s dance.’
Roman is ranked the top super-bantamweight in the world by BoxRec and has held the WBA belt since September 2017. He has made three successful defences, most recently against Gavin McDonnell in Chicago when he stopped the Englishman in the 10th round.
Like Doheny, Roman won his title by beating a Japanese fighter – Shun Kubo – in their own backyard. Friday’s bout was the first time that Doheny was in the ring since his sensational victory over Ryosuke Iwasa in Tokyo last August. Takahashi was much more limited than Iwasa, but had still only suffered one defeat in his previous 20 bouts. However, from the opening bell, he struggled against Doheny, a stylish southpaw.
Both fighters suffered a cut after a clash of heads in the second round, although the Portlaoise man, who has been based in Sydney since 2011, made light of that.
‘It’s not a TJ Doheny fight without a cut of some kind,’ he smiled. ‘That’s only a scratch compared to the one I picked up when I won the world title. Every time I come out with scratches and bruises but that is because I give it everything in the ring.’
‘I am shaking off a bit of rust and coming off a thumb injury,’ Doheny explained. ‘I was about half a second too slow on my counter-punching but the main thing is I came here to defend my title for the first time and that is exactly what I did. Every time I hit him, I felt I was hurting him.’
Doheny’s rise is a remarkable story. Having emigrated to Australia in 2011, he turned professional there following year and has risen through the rankings under the radar.
But now, the Portlaoise man is poised to finally hit the financial jackpot with a money-spinning title unification bout against Roman that could take place in Los Angeles this coming April.