Michael Conlan vs TJ Doheny Preview Aug. 6th, 2021
Northern Ireland’s unbeaten Michael Conlan is back in action on Friday, August 6th when he takes on former world champion TJ Doheny of the Republic of Ireland in a 10-round junior featherweight tilt. The fight comes from Belfast and can be seen in America on ESPN+ in the afternoon Eastern time. Conlan last fought in April when he beat Ionut Baluta by a 12-round majority decision for the vacant WBO International Super Bantamweight Title. Doheny last saw action in March, 2020 when he dropped an eight-round unanimous decision to the very same Ionut Baluta.
Conlan vs Doheny Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- TJ Doheny +400
- Michael Conlan -600
My Pick
The 29-year-old Conlan of Belfast carries around a perfect record of 15-0 with 8 Kos. He enjoyed a fine amateur career as he participated in the 2010 Commonwealth Games and was a quarter finalist at the 2011 European Championships and 2011 World Amateur Championships. He won a bronze medal at the 2012 Olympic Games in London and a silver medal at the 2013 European Championships. He reached the final eight of the 2013 World Amateur Championships.
He then won gold at the 2014 Commonwealth Games and both the 2015 European Championships and World Amateur Championships before participating in the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. Conlan also fought in the World Series of Boxing from 2012 to 2015. As an amateur, Conlan lost to Andrew Selby three times as well as Jason Moloney, Robeisy Ramirez and Vladimir Nikitin (twice) and beat the likes of Khalid Yafai, Nordine Oubaali (twice), Jose Diaz and Murodjon Akhmadaliev.
Conlan turned pro back in 2017 and has 103 rounds of experience since. He stands 5-feet-8-inches tall with a 69-inch reach and has decent power with a current knockout ratio of 53.3 per cent. Since turning pro he’s also captured the vacant WBO Inter-Continental, and vacant WBA Inter-Continental Featherweight Titles. Conlan has fine boxing skills and can also switch to southpaw at times and be just as effective.
He’s not the biggest puncher in the division and has gone the distance in four of his last six fights. Conlan’s still learning the ropes as a pro and hasn’t faced a top contender as of yet with his biggest wins coming over the likes of Baluta, Sofiane Takoucht, Kenny Guzman, David Berna, Jason Cunningham, Ruben Garcia Hernandez and Diego Alberto Ruiz. He also avenged his controversial amateur defeats to Nikitin.
The 34-year-old Doheny hails from Ireland, but fights out of Australia. He’s 22-2 with 16 Kos after starting his pro career with a perfect mark of 21-0 with 15 Kos. He made his pro debut in 2014 and has 145 rounds of experience under his belt. He’s pretty good power in his fists with a current knockout ratio of 66.7 per cent and also has some mighty fine boxing skills. He stands just over 5-feet-5-inches tall with a 68-inch reach so gives up 2.5 inches in height to Conlan and an inch in reach. He has a solid chin, but has been down before as a pro.
Since turning pro Doheny has won the PABA Super Bantamweight Title and defended it half a dozen times. He won the IBF Super Bantamweight Title in Japan at the famous Korakuen Hall via a unanimous decision over Ryosuke Iwasa in 2018 and defended it stopping Ryohei Takahashi in the 11th round five months later. He then met WBA champion Danny Roman in April, 2019 in a title unification bout and was edged by a majority decision.
Prediction…
Doheny is no pushover as he’s a former world champion but he’s no longer in his prime. He’s a fan-friendly boxer with an entertaining style and should give Conlan all he can handle. In fact, a Doheny win isn’t out of the question. However, if Conlan’s ever going to make a move in pro boxing and become a legitimate title contender he’s going to have to take care of the likes of Doheny. I’m expecting him to do so, but he’s going to have to work hard to earn the win.
This should be a hard test for Conlan, but one he should pass.
Play Conlan -600 @ BetOnline.ag
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Michael Conlan betting • TJ Doheny betting