Dethroned Tapales KOs Omori

Marlon Tapales of the Philippine (L) and Shohei Omori of Japan (R) fight during their World Boxing Organisation (WBO) bantamweight title boxing bout in Osaka on April 23, 2017.
Tapales has been stripped of his World Boxing Organization bantamweight title after failing to make the weight limit for the title defence against Japan’s Shohei Omori in Osaka on April 23. / AFP PHOTO / JIJI PRESS / STR / Japan OUT

OSAKA, Japan—His crown is gone, but his pride remains.

Marlon Tapales stopped Japanese Shohei Omori early in the 11th round Sunday night to prove that he still has the heart of a champion despite being stripped of his World Boxing Organization bantamweight crown due to excess weight a day earlier.

The Filipino southpaw staggered Omori with a left uppercut then followed it up with a barrage of punches, prompting referee Celestino Ruiz to give the groggy, bloody challenger the full count in the 10th round.

Tapales was still pummeling his hapless opponent when the bell rang. Wobbly, Omori struggled to reach his corner men, who frantically tried to bring him back to his senses.

As soon as the 11th round started, Tapales lunged and bombarded Omori with more punches, forcing the Chicago official to halt the action-packed bout at Edion Arena Osaka here.

“Even if there was no title on the line [for me], I promised myself that I won’t hand it to him without a fight,” Tapales, who still missed the 118-pound limit despite starving himself in the last two days, said in Filipino.