Naoya Inoue Confident Marlon Tapales Will Not Last the Distance
Unified super bantamweight champions Naoya “Monster” Inoue (25-0, 22 KOs) and Marlon “Nightmare” Tapales (37-3, 19 KOs) are days away from their December 26 battle to determine the undisputed champion in the division. Inoue has the belief that Tapales is not going to make it to the final bell.
Much of the spotlight has been directed toward Inoue in the lead-up to this fight. It’s understandable why. With his eighth-round stoppage over Stephen Fulton in July 2023 to become a unified champion at 122, most boxing observers now view the fighter from Japan as one of the game’s true superstars.
The task is to now collect all the belts at junior featherweight. To make that goal a reality, Inoue has to handle his business against Tapales, a savvy veteran and a two-division world challenger.
Tapales captured his unified titles with a split-decision victory over Murodjon Akhmadaliev in April 2023. Immediately after the win against Akhmadaliev, the Filipino fighter set his sights on a match with Inoue. In attendance for Fulton versus Inoue, the Nightmare challenged The Monster. Inoue gladly accepted without hesitation.
READY TO STRIKE
During an exclusive with the media outlet FightHype, Inoue spoke about this upcoming fight. When asked whether he thinks he will stop Tapales, the 30-year-old said the following:
(Translated from Japanese) “For me, to win the fight is first and foremost. But within the flow of the fight, if that opportunity comes to knock him out, I will knock him out.”
A man of immense pride, Tapales is tough and will not lay down for anyone. But Inoue isn’t your average world champion. With his unique hand and foot speed, outstanding boxing skills, and one-punch power in both hands, Inoue has the tools to knock Tapales out.
Inoue stopped Paul Butler to win the undisputed at bantamweight in December 2022. A win over Tapales means that Inoue would become an undisputed champion in back-to-back years – an unprecedented feat in the contemporary four-world title era.
