WEEK OF FIGHT

Pound-for-pound Naoya Inoue will try to become a two-time undisputed champion when he faces fellow 122-pound champion Marlon Tapales on Tuesday.

NAOYA INOUE (25-0, 22 KOs)vs. MARLON TAPALES (37-3, 19 KOs)

Date: Tuesday, December 26 Time: 3 a.m. ET / midnight PT (main event later in the show) Where: Ariake Arena, Tokyo TV/Streaming: ESPN+ Division: Junior Featherweight (122 pounds) On Play: IBF and WBA Tapales, and Inoue’s WBC and WBO titles Odds: 12½-1 favorite (multiple media average) Also on the card: Seiya Tsutsumi vs. Kazuki Anaguchi, bantamweight Background: Inoue, No. 2 on Boxing Junkie’s pound-for-pound list, might be the most unbeatable fighter in the world. “The Monster,” a four-division champion with no obvious flaws, has been virtually untouchable in his decade-long career. Future Hall of Famer Nonito Donaire was the only fighter to give Inoue any significant resistance, but the Japanese star fought with a broken orbital bone and still won by one-sided decision. Additionally, he knocked out Donaire in a rematch. The 30-year-old is coming off an eighth-round knockout of Stephen Fulton in July, earning him both of his 122-pound titles. If he beats Tapales, he will become two-time undisputed champion. He won all four 118-pound titles less than a year ago. He has recorded six consecutive knockouts since the first fight with Donaire. Tapales has been a contender for almost a decade, but he didn’t have a big win until his most recent fight, a split decision over previously undefeated Murodjon Akhmadaliev that earned him both world titles in April. The 31-year-old Filipino southpaw is a good all-around experienced fighter, but he probably won’t be a threat to the talented Inoue.

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FRIDAY

Vito Mielnicki Jr. vs. Salim Larbi, junior middleweight, Newark, New Jersey (FITE)