August 16: Ryosuke Iwasa to Defend IBF 122-Pound Title Against TJ Doheny Live on ESPN+

Published by Shawn C.

American fight fans will be treated to breakfast and boxing on Thursday,
Aug. 16 when Ryosuke Iwasa makes the second defense of his IBF junior
featherweight world championship against No. 1 contender TJ “The Power”
Doheny at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo. Iwasa (25-2, 16 KOs), a 28-year-old
native of Kashiwa, Chiba, Japan, is 19-1 when fighting at Korakuen Hall,
the iconic venue located in the same complex as the world-famous Tokyo Dome.

Iwasa vs. Doheny will be streamed live in the United States beginning at
6:45 a.m. ET on ESPN+ — the new multi-sport, direct-to-consumer
subscription streaming service from The Walt Disney Company’s
Direct-to-Consumer & International segment in conjunction with ESPN.
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Iwasa, a 10-year-pro, is a southpaw who won the first eight bouts of his
career before a 10th-round TKO loss to Shinsuke Yamanaka on March 5, 2011.
Yamanaka went on to win the WBC bantamweight world title in his next fight
and would make 12 successful title defenses. Iwasa won 11 straight bouts
following the Yamanaka defeat before suffering the only other blemish on
his record, a sixth-round TKO loss to Lee Haskins for the interim IBF
bantamweight title. Iwasa moved up to the junior featherweight division
after the Haskins fight, winning the world title in September of last year
with a sixth-round TKO against Yukinori Oguni. In his last bout, on March
1, Iwasa defended his belt with a wide unanimous decision against Ernesto
Saulong.

A Boston resident who was born in Ireland and spent much of his pro career
based in Australia, Doheny (19-0, 14 KOs) has won seven of his past eight
bouts via knockout. In his last bout, on a St. Patrick’s Day card in
Boston, Doheny stopped veteran Mike Oliver in the second round. Doheny is
attempting to make history against Iwasa. With a victory, he would become
only the second Irish-born pugilist to win a world title in Japan. Wayne
McCullough accomplished that feat in 1995 when he dethroned Yasuei
Yakushiji via split decision to win the WBC bantamweight title.

To subscribe to ESPN+, visit *plus.espn.com
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