FORMER SUPER-BANTAMWEIGHT WORLD champion TJ Doheny will fight for the first time in 2020 when he takes to the ring in Dubai on Friday 6 March.
The Portlaoise native [21-1, 16KOs], who lives in Australia and trains in Boston, will face the until-recently unheralded Romanian Ionut Baluta [12-2, 2KOs] on an MTK card at Caesars Palace Bluewaters.
Romania’s Ionut upset Wolverhampton’s Kyle Williams to claim a secondary continental title last time out in October but should prove no match for the world-class Doheny, whose sole career defeat came in a fight-of-the-year-contending world-title unification clash with Danny Roman last spring.
Doheny, 33, returned to winning ways with a rebound victory over Colombian veteran Jesus Martinez in October and has since been installed as the WBC’s number-one contender to champion Rey Vargas.
‘The Power’, who is promoted by Eddie Hearn and Matchroom Boxing, will seek to dust off some cobwebs next month before launching another world-title assault later in the year.
On the same Dubai card, Dublin’s Steve Collins [14-3-1, 4KOs] will face unbeaten Australian champion Cesar Mateo Tapia [11-0, 6KOs] in a light-heavyweight contest, while well-travelled Waterford welterweight Rohan Date [11-0-1, 8KOs] will also feature.
