By Elliot Worsell
It’s somewhat fitting that at a time when a new Godzilla movie is earning rave reviews around the world, Naoya Inoue, boxing’s own “Monster,” is preparing to wreak his own kind of havoc for the second time this year. Not content with trampling Stephen Fulton in July, the holder of the WBC and WBO super bantamweight belts will face, on Boxing Day, Marlon Tapales, holder of the WBA and IBF belts, in Koto- Ku, Japan. It’s the logical next fight in Inoue’s career and, what’s more, it shows the extent of his ambition and his bravery, setting him up for what could be a star-studded 2024.
That, of course, if he can do to Tapales what he has done to every other opponent he has faced so far as a professional. The feeling is that he will, naturally, but Inoue, at 30, is now competing in his fourth weight class and therefore, like any fighter chasing greatness, he is also teasing the possibility that he may one day bite more. than you can chew.
This time last year, for example, Inoue was cutting Britain’s Paul Butler down to bantamweight size, a division he had ruled since 2018. Before that, he was a long-reigning champion at super flyweight and also the flyweight, having become professional weigh-in. only 108 pounds. Now at super bantamweight, there’s no reason why Inoue shouldn’t be breaking weights the way he is, but much of the thinking of those who picked Fulton to beat him in the summer came from the idea that I was going too far in terms of weight class. The fact that he then disproved this theory in devastating style should effectively silence that concern, however, there will still be some, including Tapales, who will see Inoue’s rise up the weights as a leveling; that is, reduce the monstrosity of what he brings to the ring every time he enters it.
Because in his prime, and at his optimal weight (which could, who knows, be super bantamweight), today there is possibly no more fearsome figure in gloves than Naoya Inoue. Capable, it seems, of punching his opponents in a way that only heavyweights can traditionally do, this diminutive figure from Japan fights like no other fighter in the lower weight classes has done for some time. Calm and technically correct, he desires the knockout from the beginning and never gives up until he achieves it, usually increasing his pace and ferocity the moment he smells blood in the water. This approach has seen him finish 22 of his 25 professional wins on the schedule, with only Nonito Donaire having lasted all 12 rounds since 2016, and has also given him that aura, that air of invincibility, which often means opponents have as much fear of the inevitable. They are almost defeated before a punch even lands.
That certainly seems to be the case in Inoue’s recent fights and even against Fulton, a man considered by some to be his equal, there was never a sense that the American had any kind of confidence in his ability to extinguish Inoue’s threat, and much less take finishing and winning the fight. As a result, the fight, which some heralded as a competitive, hard-to-call affair, soon became another Inoue mismatch, with Inoue having his way with Fulton before ending the brutality in the eighth round.
Looking back, that victory offered an indication, unfortunately for those in Inoue’s new weight class, that nothing had been missed in the four-pound jump from bantamweight to super bantamweight. Moving freely and punching as hard as ever, Inoue had no trouble dealing with Fulton’s strength on the inside, nor any difficulty putting a dent in Fulton as he landed the first of his big shots in the first round. In fact, to look at Fulton at that very moment was to see the eyes of not only a surprised man but also the eyes of all the other opponents whom Inoue had similarly surprised in years past.
For this Tapales, Inoue’s next opponent, will undoubtedly be ready. He will have been warned about this and seen that appearance numerous times before, whether when he saw Inoue in the past or when he studied his fights for this challenge on December 26. Whether that, or any kind of preparation, will help is another matter. question, but Tapales, at 31 years old and with 40 professional fights to his name (37 wins, three losses), is at least experienced and shrewd enough to know the size of the task ahead of him.
Since losing to Ryosuke Iwasa in 2019, the Filipino has won four in a row, including a two-round knockout over Hiroaki Teshigawara and, most recently, a 12-round decision over Murodjon Akhmadaliev, from whom he took his current belts. He is a former bantamweight belt holder, but has established himself at super bantamweight for some time now, despite standing only 5’4 (Inoue, by comparison, is 5’5) and fighting very small (under squatting). , swinging violently). Furthermore, despite the three losses on his record (David Sánchez beat him in 2013 and lost an early one against Brix Ray in 2009), he seems like the type that he has improved over the years and brings to this fight, in addition to itself. -belief, a left-handed style, which is something Inoue has not faced since he met another Filipino, Michael Dasmarinas, in 2021.
Still, considering any of these things as remotely advantageous for Tapales would be a reach and then some. The reality is that the 11th round knockout loss against Iwasa showed his vulnerability, as well as how easy it is to find his target, and this, combined with the momentum Inoue currently enjoys, makes it very difficult to argue for him. Tapales last as long. distance, regardless of winning rounds and winning the fight. In the end, Inoue, like Godzilla himself, is quickly becoming, for good reason, the “King of the Monsters”, and another stop here, secured sometime around the eighth, will only add to this growing and well-deserved reputation.
