Naoya Inoue KOs Marlon Tapales in 10, wins undisputed 122-pound championship
Naoya Inoue dug deep to wear tough and cagey Marlon Tapales down to a 10th-round knockout, earning the undisputed 122-pound championship on Tuesday at the Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan.
Inoue (26-0, 23 KOs), who also won the vacant Ring Magazine junior featherweight title, did not have an easy time with Tapales, who entered the showdown as The Ring’s No. 2-rated junior featherweight.
Tapales (37-4, 19 KOs) upset Murodjon Akhmadaliev via split decision for the IBF and WBA belts in April and the veteran southpaw from the Philippines showed that victory was no fluke by hanging in there with Inoue and having moments during the middle rounds.
Inoue earned the No. 1 spot in The Ring’s junior featherweight rankings by dethroning then-undefeated WBC/WBO titleholder Stephen Fulton in July and he pretty much had his way with the American en route to an eighth-round TKO. Tapales proved to be a tougher assignment by boxing out of a tight guard and catching much of Inoue’s explosive offense on his gloves, forearms and shoulders.
Tapales limited his offense in the early rounds to minimize exchanges and Inoue’s counter-punching opportunities, tactics that clearly frustrated the Japanese superstar. However, Tapales stepped on the gas a bit in Round 4 and attempted to trade body shots with Inoue. The tit-for-tat infighting lasted to the final 30 seconds of the round when Inoue broke through with a hook that rocked Tapales, who backed to the ropes where local hero floored him with a hook-cross-hook combination just before the bell.
Tapales beat the count and covered up for the first minute of Round 5, but then fired back with gusto, landing uppercuts and uppercut-hook combinations to Inoue’s head and body. Inoue raged back in the final minute, but the tone was set for second half of the fight, which remained competitive although Inoue generally landed the harder, more effective blows – usually right hands.
Inoue punches around Tapales’ high guard. Photo by Naoki Fukuda
Tapales arguably won Round 7 with a busy, well-timed jab off his back foot so he could remain just out of range, but although he was able to back Inoue up in spots and slow down the pace of the fight, he was still caught by Inoue’s right cross in Rounds 8 and 9.
Those shots took a toll on the veteran and just under a minute into Round 10 a big lead right followed by another straight right backed Tapales to the ropes and to the canvas on his hands and knees. Tapales remained down for referee Celestino Ruiz’s 10 count.
Naoya Inoue becomes a two-division undisputed champion with a 10th round knockout over Marlon Tapales.
pic.twitter.com/eRdz1JDLGy— 𝒟𝒾𝒶𝓇𝒾𝑜𝓈 (@DiariosJournals) December 26, 2023
“I am so relieved at the moment,” Inoue said after the bout. “I had to beat such a tough, strong opponent like Marlon Tapales. He never showed any fatigue or damage on his face, so I was surprised when I dropped him in the 10th.”
With the victory, Inoue, who has won major titles in four weight classes, became a two-division undisputed champion. The 30-year-old boxer-puncher earned undisputed champion status at bantamweight with an 11th-round KO of Paul Butler last December.
Inoue is the undisputed king of junior featherweight, just 12 months after he was crowned undisputed champ of the bantamweights. Photo by Naoki Fukuda
With just two bouts in 2023, Inoue has become the king of a new division, as well as a strong candidate for Fighter of the Year. Terence Crawford, the other two-division undisputed champion among active male fighters, is the other major candidate for that honor thanks to his breathtaking stoppage of Errol Spence in July. The two generational talents are currently the top-rated fighters in The Ring’s pound-for-pound rankings (Crawford is No. 1, Inoue is No. 2).
Let the debates begin on who deserves the Fighter of the Year and P4P No. 1 spot.
And while hardcore heads and boxing media argue about rankings and awards, fans who just enjoy watching Inoue fight will wonder who’s next and at what weight class. Some believe Inoue will invade the featherweight division next year, but The Monster says he’ll stick around at 122, at least for his next bout, which he says will be in May.
“Super bantamweight is my division for now,” said Inoue, whose next fight could be against WBA mandatory Akhmadaliev, The Ring’s No. 4-rated junior featherweight, who was ringside, or WBC mandatory Luis Nery, The Ring’s No. 6 contender.
In the co-featured bout of the Ohashi Promotions (in association with Teiken and Top Rank) event, unbeaten Seiya Tsutsumi defended his national bantamweight title with a hard-fought, entertaining 10-round decision over previously undefeated southpaw Kazuki Araguchi.
Tsutsumi (10-0-2, 7 KOs) won by scores of 95-91 and 94-92 (twice) on the strength of four knockdowns scored in Rounds 4, 7, 9 and 10. Despite the knockdowns, it was a hotly contested fight with Anaguchi (6-1, 2 KOs) often getting the better of Tsutsumi with superior boxing, technique and footwork. Anaguchi landed clean left hands throughout the fast-paced bout, but elected to stand his ground against Tsutsumi, who despite fighting with a bad cut over his left eye, gradually wore down the sharper boxer with his forward-marching aggression and sheer punch volume.
By the end of the fight, Anaguchi’s legs were gone. The 23-year-old Osaka native could barely stand on his own immediately after the bout and needed the assistance of his corner to exit the ring. Hopefully, Anaguchi was merely exhausted and not in need of serious medical attention.
Email Fischer at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter and IG at @dougiefischer, and join him, Tom Loeffler, Coach Schwartz and friends via Tom’s or Doug’s IG Live most Sundays.
SUBSCRIBE NOW (CLICK HERE - JUST $1.99 PER MONTH) TO READ THE LATEST ISSUE
