By: Sean Crose

“I am absolutely ecstatic to be joining the principal team in professional boxing today,” says Ireland’s TJ Doheny, the IBF super bantamweight world champion. Doheny, according to Matchroom Boxing “has signed a promotional deal with Matchroom Boxing USA and will make the first defense of his IBF World Super-Bantamweight title at the Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York on Friday January 18, live on DAZN in the US and on Sky Sports in the UK.”

“I believe with Matchroom Boxing and my management team at MTK Global I have the perfect blend to help me achieve my ultimate goals in the sport of boxing,” says Doheny. Doheny, who won his belt by besting Ryosuke Iwasa in Japan last summer, boasts an undefeated 20-0 record. His opponent for the 18th has yet to be announced.

“I’m delighted to welcome TJ to the team,” said promoter Eddie Hearn. “TJ is always in great fights and he is coming off a huge win in Japan to capture the title.” Doheny is one of numerous fighters of note in recent memory who have teamed up with Hearn. “He (Doheny) will make the first defense of his title at Madison Square Garden on Jan 18,” the promoter continues, “and if he comes through will attempt to unify the division against WBA champ Danny Roman in the spring. There are some great fights to be made at 122lbs and we expect to see all of them on DAZN.”

Doheny, who now lives in New Zealand, has fought most of his matches in his homeland, though this will be his fourth time fighting in the US. Although not well known to American audiences, Doheny’s a belt holder in a division that includes Guillermo Rigondeaux. Isaac Dogboe, Rey Vargas, and Diego De La Hoya. Fighting, as he will be on the undercard of the Demtrius Andrade-Artur Akavov WBO middleweight title bout, should help expose the man to a wider audience.

This will be Doheny’s first fight in Madison Square Garden. New York, with it’s large Irish population, could present a comfortable audience, as Boston has in two of Doheny’s previous American fights. ““I am really excited to getting the ball rolling with my first defense on January 18 at Madison Square Garden,” he says. “This fight will give me the momentum I need going into (a) really big year.”

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