Having missed his target weight before leaving for Japan on Monday, Marlon Tapales needs to put in extra work at the gym and hit the road before his World Boxing Organization title defense against Japanese Shohei Omori on Sunday.
According to Tapales last week, he must not go over 124 pounds to stay within safe distance of the 118-lb bantamweight limit.
Tapales doesn’t want to be bloated as temperature is dropping in Osaka, where the bout will be held at the 8,000-seat Edion Arena, at this time.
It came as a surprise therefore that Tapales weighed in a heavy 127 on Saturday, nine pounds off the mark.
For team manager Rex “Wakee” Salud, however, the excess poundage is hardly surprising because of the Lenten break and poses no serious concern.
Fact is, Tapales already shed off some pounds during gym training on Tuesday and a public workout at Green Tsoda Gym on Wednesday.
Just to make sure, trainers Fernando Ocon and Brix Flores are expected to make Tapales work out heavily on Thursday and lightly on Friday, before his physical examination at Tane Hospital.
On Saturday, Tapales and Omori, his two-round victim in 2015, will have their weigh-in and press conference at Hotel Monterey Grasmere in central Osaka.
Salud is confident Tapales will make weight on his first try at the scales.