TJ Doheny is the new IBF World Super Bantamweight champion after outpointing Japan's Ryosuke Iwasa in a unanimous decision at the Korakuen Hall in Tokyo.

Ryosuke was making his second defence of a belt once held by Carl Frampton and started well in the face of intense pressure, inflicting a deep cut under Doheny's eye by the end of the second round.

The defending champion looked relatively comfortable at that stage, easily avoiding a series of wild left hooks from 'The Power' and countering well.

The Portlaoise southpaw took control from midway through the 12-round contest however, repeatedly landing his jab and a succession of body shots.

A tired Iwasa resorted to holding desperately in the closing rounds but will still be stunned by the margin of his defeat in a fight where he landed a higher percentage of punches (29% to 26%).

The judges scored the fight 115-113, 116-112 and 117-112 in favour of Doheny, who becomes only the second boxer from Ireland or the UK to win a world title in Japan after Wayne McCullough.

The 31-year-old moves to 20 career fights unbeaten and becomes the third reigning Irish world champion alongside Ryan Burnett and Katie Taylor.

Doheny beat Frampton as an amateur in 2006 but moved to Australia after missing out on qualification for the 2008 Olympics.

He made his pro debut Down Under in 2012 and despite continuing to be based in Sydney has also fought in the US since hooking up with musician Ken Casey's Murphys Boxing.