Naoya Inoue needed to work more durable than ordinary however the outcome was acquainted.
Boxing Junkie’s No. 2 boxer pound-for-pound picked aside fellow titleholder Marlon Tapales earlier than lastly stopping him within the tenth spherical to turn into undisputed 122-pound champion Tuesday in Tokyo.
The Japanese star is barely the second fighter to personal all 4 titles in a second division within the four-belt period, becoming a member of Terence Crawford.
Naoya Inoue turns into a two-division undisputed champion with a tenth spherical knockout over Marlon Tapales.pic.twitter.com/eRdz1JDLGy
— 𝒟𝒾𝒶𝓇𝒾𝑜𝓈 (@DiariosJournals) December 26, 2023
“I’m so completely happy that I acquired the knockout in such a decisive method,” Naoya stated within the ring instantly after the struggle.
Inoue (26-0, 23 KOs) managed the struggle from starting to finish however took extra punches than he usually does and had problem breaking the resilient Tapales (37-4, 19 KOs) down.
The Filipino southpaw went down below a collection of laborious punches to the pinnacle and physique in Spherical 4, which gave the impression to be the start of the top. Nevertheless, he survived that adversity to do his greatest work in Rounds 7 and eight.
Tapales discovered a technique to land counter punches extra persistently than he had earlier within the struggle and took every little thing Inoue threw at him.
Nevertheless, his rally didn’t final lengthy. Inoue, who remained persistent all through, appeared to harm him with a mix of energy punches late in Spherical 9.
The tip got here within the following spherical. Naoya break up Tapales’ guard with a straight proper hand that pressured his opponent to his knees after which all fours. And he wasn’t capable of stand up, making him “The Monster’s” seventh consecutive knockout sufferer.
The official time of the stoppage was 1:02 of Spherical 10.
“He by no means confirmed me fatigue or injury from his face, so I used to be fairly stunned when he went down within the tenth spherical,” Inoue stated. “It was probably the most intense fights I’ve ever had, in all probability, however my nook cheered me up and saved me centered all through the bout.”
Inoue had a terrific yr, stopping two of the three greatest 122-pounders. He took Stephen Fulton down in eight rounds to win two titles in July. And now Tapales.
Subsequent up could possibly be his greatest risk within the division, Murodjon Akhmadaliev, whom Tapales upset by a break up determination this previous April. The U.S. based-Uzbek has a greater mixture of velocity and energy than both Fulton or Tapales has.
That would current an attention-grabbing problem for Inoue. On the similar time, he reminded us as soon as once more on Tuesday that anybody who tangles with him faces a near-impossible mission.
