Naoya Inoue faced Marlon Tapales on December 26 at Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan and won the undisputed Super Bantamweight world titles. Earlier this year, Inoue defeated Stephen Fulton to win the WBC and WBO super bantamweight titles, and he immediately pursued greatness in the division. Tapales fought well, but Inoue’s hand speed and combinations were too much for him and he succumbed to pressure in the 10th round after being knocked down earlier in the fight.
Inoue dominated the fight from the beginning
“The Monster” began the fight with a powerful offensive strategy and dominated his opponent from the very first round. Inoue focused on attacking both the body and head of Tapales. In response, “Nightmare” showed minimal offensive resistance, allowing Inoue to take control and decisively secure the early rounds. In the second round, both fighters exchanged punches, but the Japanese distinguished himself by landing more impressive blows. While Tapales enjoyed some success, he failed to garner any significant results against his opponent.
The Japanese fighter outclassed his opponent in almost every round
Inoue showed more aggressiveness in the third round, while Tapales chose a measured approach, carefully selecting his punches and combinations. Despite the deliberate strategy of the Filipino fighter, Inoue managed to finish the round by outclassing his opponent and maintaining a high level of activity. Inoue continued to dominate in the fourth round and despite constant pressure from his opponent, he endured the blows. The round took a decisive turn when Tapales suffered a knockdown.
In the fifth round, Naoya landed a flurry of powerful strikes in an aggressive attempt to finish Tapales. Without any fear, Tapales countered with his punches, leading to an exchange of powerful uppercuts from both fighters. In the sixth round, Tapales began the action by putting pressure on Inoue. However, Naoya turned the tide in the second half of the round with powerful counterpunches. Despite Inoue’s powerful strikes, Tapales showed flexibility and held pressure.
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In the seventh round, the Filipino fighter demonstrated his skill by landing some strong strikes, but Inoue used his counter-punching effectively. The eighth round saw both fighters continue to throw blows at each other and Tapales found success with his jab. In the ninth round, the fighters continued to trade punches, however, Inoue increased his pressure and found more success in the exchange.
Tenth round saw the momentum change decisively as Inoue established his dominance. At the beginning of the round, he managed to put Tapales down with a strong blow; the fight was eventually concluded and Inoue scored a knockout victory.
