TJ Doheny’s opponent for his IBF super bantamweight title defense on January 18 has been announced.
The Irish champion will face Ryohei Takahashi on the DAZN card taking place at the Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City, per a press release from Matchroom Boxing. The fight will be the first in Doheny's multi-fight deal with Matchroom Boxing.
Takahashi, a 28-year-old boxer from Japan, sports a 16-3-1 record as a pro. Takahashi has held the IBF Pan Pacific super bantamweight title and is on a five-fight win streak since his last defeat, a split decision loss to Yuki Iriguchi. Takahashi has previously faced current super flyweight contender Andrew Moloney in 2016.
Doheny will make his first world title defense since winning the belt back in August. On a boxing card at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Doheny scored a unanimous decision win over Ryosuke Iwasa, ending Iwasa's 11-month reign as world champion. Earlier this month, Doheny signed with Matchroom Boxing with the hopes of booking Doheny in a unification fight against WBA champion Daniel Roman.
The title fight will be the third world title bout announced for the January 18 card, the first boxing card to be streamed on DAZN in 2019. The main event is a WBO middleweight title fight between Demetrius Andrade and Artur Akavov while Amanda Serrano and Eva Voragerger will fight for the WBO Female super flyweight title. Also announced for the card are former world champions Chris Algieri and Jorge Linares in action in separate bouts.
