NAOYA “The Monster” Inoue of Japan won the undisputed world champion title under second weight, after knocking out the daring Philippine representative Marlon Tapales on Tuesday.
Tapales’ ambition to win all four bantamweight belts was dashed when the Japanese landed a massive right hand to knock out the Filipino pride in the 10th round, ending the bout sooner than intended.
The much anticipated fight got off with both Inoue and Tapales engaging in a tactical duel, with the Filipino putting up an impenetrable defense and the Japanese being extra cautious with his strikes.
The fight began to pick up steam in the fourth round, when The Monster began to open up and The Nightmare reciprocated. To the pleasure of the pro-Inoue crowd, Inoue won the round late, knocking Tapales to his knees with a late flurry.
Tapales, on the other hand, was able to withstand the initial assault and was saved by the bell. The knockdown came with less than 20 seconds left in the fourth.
With 1:02 left in the tenth round, The Monster pursued the pace and landed crushing punches to Tapales’ head and body, knocking the Filipino pride to his knees.
Tapales attempted to recover from the heavy blows but was unable to do so after touching the mat in the tenth round. This is his fourth defeat of his career, and his second by knockout.
Tapales now has a professional record of 37-4, while Inoue is undefeated at 26-0, with 23 wins coming by knockout. The Japanese champion now has the WBC, WBA, WBO, and IBF super bantamweight titles.
The winner, Inoue, congratulated Tapales on a terrific fight, highlighting his strong mentality throughout. The Monster emphasized Tapales’ calmness in the face of all the punches he unleashed at him.
“He was very tough with a strong mentality. He kept a poker face throughout and didn’t show that my punches were doing him any damage, so I was quite surprised when he went down in the tenth round,” said Inoue.
Despite the defeat, Tapales was greeted warmly by the spectators for being as fearless as he had been into this match and putting everything he had on the table.
With a strong showing by the Filipino pride, fans should expect him to bounce back and use this hard-fought setback as a learning experience for future appearances.
