Marlon Tapales, Naoya Inoue all set as history beckons

Japan’s WBC and WBO super bantamweight champion Naoya Inoue (front L) and Philippines’ WBA and IBF super bantamweight champion Marlon Tapales (front R) pose as they pass the official weigh-in at a hotel in Yokohama, Kanagawa prefecture on December 25, 2023, ahead of their four-belt world super bantamweight title unification match at Tokyo’s Ariake Arena on December 26. (Photo by Kazuhiro NOGI / AFP)

MANILA, Philippines–Marlon Tapales and Naoya Inoue shook hands and exchanged smiles after facing off during the official weigh-in on Monday on the eve of their undisputed super bantamweight showdown at Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan.

The stakes are immensely high but there’s mutual respect between the two champions, who are both chasing history.

An upset victory by Tapales (37-3, 19KOs) makes him the first Filipino to reach undisputed status–a feat that not even the great Manny Pacquiao was able to accomplish throughout his glittering 26-year career.

A win for Inoue (25-0, 22KOs), meanwhile, puts himself in rarefied air as a two-weight undisputed champion.

The 31-year-old Tapales, who holds the WBA (super) and IBF belts, tipped the scale at 121.2 pounds while Inoue was slightly heavier at 121.6.

Philippines’ WBA and IBF super bantamweight champion Marlon Tapales (C) poses as he passes the official weigh-in at a hotel in Yokohama, Kanagawa prefecture on December 25, 2023, ahead of his title match against Japan’s WBC and WBO super bantamweight champion Naoya Inoue at Tokyo’s Ariake Arena on December 26. (Photo by Kazuhiro NOGI / AFP)

Inoue is fighting at 122 pounds for just the second time after impressing in his super bantamweight debut with a masterclass against Stephen Fulton last July where he claimed the WBC and WBO titles.

Tapales, who trained in Las Vegas and Baguio City, is brimming with confidence despite being a heavy underdog against one of the top pound-for-pound fighters today.

The Tubod, Lanao del Norte native is no stranger to being the longshot. In his previous bout in April, Tapales stunned Uzbekistan’s Murodjo Akhmadaliev by split decision to become a unified champion in a fight he wasn’t expected to win.