By Keith Idec

TJ Doheny couldn’t understand the ring announcer when the scores were read Thursday night in Tokyo.

Ryosuke Iwasa knew what was said and left the ring dejected.

Ireland’s Doheny won a unanimous decision in their 12-rounder and took the IBF junior featherweight title from the Japanese fighter. All three judges favored Doheny (20-0, 14 KOs) in this back-and-forth battle between southpaws.

California’s Jonathan Davis (116-112), Australia’s Tony Marretta (117-112) and Japan’s Katsuhiko Nakamura (115-113) each credited Doheny with the win at Korakuen Hall.

The 31-year-old Doheny, who relocated to Sydney, Australia 10 years ago, fought with cuts beneath both eyes for 10-plus rounds and landed enough overhand lefts and jabs to impress the judges. Doheny seemed to tire late in the bout, but the taller, rangier Iwasa wasn’t able to do enough to sway the judges.

The 28-year-old Iwasa (25-3, 16 KOs) lost in his second defense of the IBF 122-pound championship he won from countryman Yukinori Oguni by sixth-round technical knockout 11 months ago in Osaka, Japan.

According to CompuBox’s unofficial statistics, Doheny landed more overall punches than Iwasa (159-of-604 to 143-of-485). CompuBox counted more power punches for Iwasa (105-of-281 to 97-of-362) and more jabs for Doheny (62-of-242 to 38-of-204).

There weren’t any knockdowns during this nondescript encounter and neither fighter appeared badly hurt by his opponent.

The 12th round amounted to an ugly three minutes, as Iwasa and Doheny spent much of it tied up.

Iwasa clipped Doheny with a straight left hand and a right hook several seconds later in the 11th round. They tumbled to the canvas after an awkward clinch with 1:25 to go in the 11th.

Iwasa landed a right hook with a minute left in the 10th round, but Doheny motioned toward Iwasa to let him know that punch didn’t hurt him. Doheny didn’t land many effective punches in the 10th, when Iwasa was able to slip his left hand several times.

Doheny connected with a jab and quickly followed with a straight left hand when there was just under a minute to go in the ninth round. Iwasa’s stiff jab stopped Doheny in his tracks a little later in the ninth.

Unlike previous rounds, Doheny initiated clinches during the eighth round and didn’t land many punches during those three minutes.

Doheny’s hard overhand left caused Iwasa to hold just after the midway mark of the seventh round. Doheny’s right hook landed cleanly later in the seventh.

An aggressive Doheny landed a combination early in the sixth round and caused Iwasa to hold him. Iwasa’s left uppercut back Doheny into the ropes toward the end of the sixth round.

Doheny’s jab was effective early in the fifth round, but Iwasa moved forward and kept the pressure on the challenger. Doheny landed three overhand lefts from long distances during the second half of the fourth round.

Doheny backed up Iwasa with a straight left hand at the 50-second mark of the third round. Iwasa’s right hand to the body stopped Doheny’s momentum later in the third.

Iwasa’s short right hook clipped Doheny with 25 seconds remaining in the second round. Donehy hit Iwasa with a straight left hand, his best punch of the second round, several seconds later.

Doheny suffered a cut, this time under his left eye, earlier in the second round.

A cut opened underneath Doheny’s right eye with a little under a minute to go in the first round. Iwasa knocked Doheny off balance with a right hook when there were 10 seconds left in the first round.

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.