TJ Doheny makes out of the blue return on Usky undercard THIS WEEKEND
TJ Doheny [21(15)-1(0)] will make a somewhat out of the blue return to the ring as early as Saturday night.
Irish-boxing.com reported October 12 as a possible return date for ‘The Power’ last month, but official conformation only came today.
The Sydney-based, Boston-trained, Laois boxer will return against Colombia’s Jesus Martinez [26(13)-9(5)] on the undercard of the DAZN-streamed show this Saturday at Wintrust Arena in Chicago.
It’s the first time the Portlaoise super bantamweight will trade leather since he was gallantly defeated in an IBF-WBA unification with Danny Roman in LA back in April.
Dropped and hurt himself, Doheny almost stopped his American counterpart in a thrilling fight which saw his stock rise Stateside.
Ukraine’s former undisputed cruiserweight champion Oleksandr Usyk headlines the bill in his first major heavyweight contest, taking on Dutch former kickboxer Tyrone Spong.
Doheny will share the undercard with WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol and WBC-WBA light welterweight champion Jessica McCaskill – with the former and potentially future Katie Taylor opponent rematching Erica Anabella Farias.
Despite late official conformation the talented southpaw has been in camp for eight weeks in preparation for his clash with the tough but passed his best 38-year-old Colombian.
Speaking to Irish-boxing.com earlier this Autumn the former world champion was excited about his future and revealed he still has best at 126lbs ambitions.
“I lost but there was nothing in that fight and I feel the best is yet to come,” he said of the Roman clash. “I will be back on top in no time. I want high level opponents with exciting styles that are going to impress the fans, but also put me back in contention to challenge for another world title.”
‘The Power’, who recently admitted that his preparations for the Roman fight were not ideal, is currently ranked #4 with the WBC and #6 with the IBF.
Roman pulled out of his mandatory defence versus Murodjan Akhmadaliev last month with an injured shoulder and must face the Uzbek next.
The WBC title is held by Rey Vargas who, like Doheny, is DAZN-affiliated, while WBO kingpin Emanuel Navarrete is with Top Rank and ESPN.
