Naoya Inoue knocked out Marlon Tapales in 10 rounds on the Ariake Enviornment in Tokyo to win the undisputed super-bantamweight title.
Successful made Inoue the primary undisputed super-bantamweight champion of the four-belt period.
It’s also a historic achievement as he joins Terence Crawford as considered one of solely two males to turn out to be two-weight undisputed four-belt champions.
It was just a little over a 12 months in the past that Inoue was going undisputed at bantamweight.
In simply his first struggle at 122lbs in July, he knocked out Stephen Fulton to win the WBC and WBO titles.
He served up one other spectacular end to beat Marlon Tapales, who was the reigning IBF and WBO titlist after a career-best win over Murodjon Akhmadaliev earlier this 12 months.
Inoue dropped Tapales within the fourth spherical after which delivered one other knockdown within the tenth. Tapales couldn’t beat the referee’s depend.
“I would like to give a big shout-out to Marlon Tapales,” Inoue stated afterwards. “Such a tough opponent.
“He by no means confirmed me fatigue or injury so I used to be fairly shocked when he went down on this spherical.”
‘I am so happy’
Although Inoue won by stoppage yet again, rival champion Tapales gave the Japanese star a genuine contest, coming back into the fight after the home favourite dominated the early rounds.
Quickly Inoue demonstrated his hand speed, as he dug a right hook into Tapales’ body. As the Filipino southpaw waited for his opponent to initiate, Inoue caught him out. Up close he worked in a short right cross.
Clumsy for a moment, Tapales over-reached and Inoue punished the mistake with an uppercut.
In the second round, he tipped Tapales off balance with a jab, a hint at how dangerously effective the timing of Inoue’s punches could be.
Inoue pressed Tapales back the ropes, swinging a right hook through in a blazing combination of punches.
Regrouping, Tapales heaved his backhand left into Inoue’s physique.
They opened up within the fourth spherical. Tapales did tag him with a flush cross, however that simply prompted the Japanese fighter to extend his personal punch output.
Tapales would not again off from the ability punches coming his approach. The Filipino aimed his proper hook on the physique and fired that very same shot into the pinnacle.
Inoue merely replied with a hurtful mixture. His left hook landed arduous. He then unloaded a ferocious flurry and with one other left hook, dropped Tapales with 5 seconds left within the spherical.
The bell saved him then.
Inoue continued his assault within the fifth spherical, banging in proper arms.
Tapales, although, managed to soak up these hits and got here again at ‘The Monster’.
Tapales set himself as much as land nice hooks. He was rising to the strain. However a countering proper from Inoue punished a missed left hook and shook up Tapales.
The Filipino stabilised within the mid-rounds, boxing nicely within the seventh and eighth as he adjusted his defences.
Inoue had to answer that and he did. He backed up a cross with one other proper, these arduous punches discovering their approach by way of.
Within the tenth spherical, Inoue’s proper blasted into Tapales’ arms, shaking free his guard.
Inoue struck in one other huge proper. Tapales could not deal with the ability of that shot. He stumbled again earlier than falling to his knees. He would stay on the canvas unable to proceed.
“I kept myself very focused throughout the bout,” Inoue mirrored.
“I’m so happy at the moment because I was victorious against a tough, strong, very spirited opponent like Marlon Tapales.
“Thank you so much for fighting me and I am so happy that I got victory by TKO in such an exciting manner.”
What subsequent?
Inoue’s subsequent outing can be vastly anticipated. In the long term, it seems to be like he has the potential to achieve success even within the subsequent weight class up.
However his instant future will doubtless see him stay at 122lbs, the place he’s now the undisputed king.
“I think super-bantamweight is my weight division for now so in 2024, I would like to show myself at super-bantamweight in even stronger form,” he warned.
The WBC will mandate Mexico’s Luis Nery as the following challenger for his or her title.
“The WBC allowed this [Tapales] fight to happen. Nery was next and we did rule that the ultimate undisputed fight would take precedence and Nery accepted it. He has been the mandatory contender for almost a year and a half so he’s going to fight the winner,” WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman informed Sky Sports activities.
“Nery’s a two-time world champion so you cannot get a better mandatory contender than that and that is the aim of the WBC. If you’re a mandatory contender, you have to be the best of the division.”
Inoue did not speculate on his subsequent opponent however did recommend he can be combating in Might.
“I think a lot of people know the rumour of a fight coming about in May. But I can’t say much about this yet because we’re under negotiation,” he stated.
“But I want to make everybody happy so that I can show you a great fight next year as well.”