Naoya Inoue retains undisputed title after TJ Doheny quits with injury

Japanese boxing superstar Naoya Inoue remained the undisputed super bantamweight champion of the world when his Irish challenger TJ Doheny buckled to his knee and retired in the seventh round on Tuesday due to an apparent back injury.

Doheny complained of a “stab” after he gingerly walked back to his corner, before being pummeled by Inoue, who celebrated his technical knockout — for a 28th straight victory — in muted fashion in Tokyo.

Inoue’s pressure and relentless bodywork began to pay off from the sixth round on, and Doheny’s face was scarred by the end of the fight. The 37-year-old challenger eventually limped away from the ring, supported on both sides by his team.

“This fight didn’t end the way we expected,” Inoue said through an interpreter, “but when we have such a long career, this is a night we could have had.

“I want to celebrate,” Inoue added, “how TJ Doheny brought the fight into this ring.”

For the 31-year-old Inoue, this was his 23rd world title fight since his first in 2014, and his seventh in a row in Japan.

His promoter, Bob Arum, said Inoue will defend his titles again later this year in Tokyo and then fight in Las Vegas.

Inoue, a four-time world champion at light-flyweight, super-flyweight, bantamweight and now super-bantamweight, didn’t quite get his way against Doheny, who made the match difficult with his sharp movements and experience.

Doheny could even have won the third round after a powerful body punch and then a left-right combination to Inoue’s head.

But in the fourth round he got caught in the ropes and was picked up by Inoue, who slowly but surely broke Doheny down.

The pressure began to wear in the sixth round, when Inoue’s bodywork and an overhead right jab hurt Doheny, who appeared to grab his back in the closing seconds of the round.

The fight was 16 seconds into the seventh round when Doheny struggled to escape a barrage of punches before declaring he could not continue. The Irishman left the ring in obvious pain and without giving an interview.