Japan’s WBC and WBO tremendous bantamweight champion Naoya Inoue (L) fights with Philippines’ WBA and IBF tremendous bantamweight champion Marlon Tapales (R) throughout their four-belt world tremendous bantamweight title unification match at Tokyo’s Ariake Area on December 26, 2023. (Picture by Kazuhiro NOGI / AFP)
Naoya Inoue is an undisputed champion for the second time in his profession.
The Japanese star wore Marlon Tapales down together with his energy after which linked on a traditional 1-2 for a Tenth-round stoppage on Tuesday at Ariake Area in Tokyo.
“The Monster” thus unified the tremendous bantamweight belts, including Tapales’ Worldwide Boxing Federation and World Boxing Affiliation crowns to his World Boxing Council (WBC) and World Boxing Group (WBO) titles.
And Inoue is able to tackle all comers within the division, hinting on plans to remain there earlier than shifting to attempt to clear up one other weight class.
“I feel tremendous bantamweight is my weight division for now so in 2024, I would really like [to continue competing] in tremendous bantamweight in even stronger type,” Inoue stated by an interpreter after the bout.
It was the twenty sixth victory for Inoue in an undefeated card with simply three fighters profitable in dragging the struggle to the space.
And it appeared like Tapales, who got here in an enormous underdog, had the right sport plan to attempt to steal the bout on factors—not less than within the opening rounds.
Early knockdown
INOUE. UNDISPUTED X2 🏆🏆#InoueTapales pic.twitter.com/a19tJaf0Fi
— Sky Sports activities Boxing (@SkySportsBoxing) December 26, 2023
However Inoue scored a knockdown within the fourth spherical and the complexion of the struggle utterly modified.
“I want to give an enormous shoutout to Marlon Tapales for preventing me,” Inoue stated. “I’m so relieved that [I won] in opposition to a robust, powerful and spirited opponent like Marlon Tapales.”
Inoue’s victory got here after he unified the bantamweight divisions simply final 12 months after stopping Paul Butler. In his first struggle as a brilliant bantamweight, he scored an eighth-round stoppage of Stephen Fulton to assert the WBC and WBO crowns.
On Tuesday he accomplished the set by taking Tapales’ belts with a robust and calculated efficiency.
He linked on a 1-2 that backed Tapales up earlier than attacking the Filipino with one other 1-2 mixture that despatched his opponent to the ground on the 2:08 mark of the Tenth spherical.
Inoue, 30, is simply the second fighter in historical past to change into undisputed champion in two totally different weight lessons, the opposite being Terence Crawford.