Naoya Inoue closed the year in style with a 10-round knockout over Marlon Tapales to become the undisputed super bantamweight champion and remain one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world today.
The Japanese was the great protagonist of the night at the Ariake Arena, in Koto Ku and had another dream performance in the ring to unify against his Filipino opponent. The “Monster” already had the WBO and WBC belts in his possession and now he added the World Boxing Association (WBA) and IBF belts, which were held by Tapales.
It was an entertaining fight in which Inoue was superior but Tapales came out to leave everything in the ring, without any complications and to fight toe to toe with the local. Good exchanges and action from start to finish were the constant in this confrontation that got the audience out of their seats several times.
In the fourth episode, Inoue got a knockdown, the first of the night, which would lead to his victory and begin to tip the scales to his side definitely. The outcome came in the tenth with a blow to the face that sent Tapales to the canvas, who could not recover and heard the 10 count by the referee.
Inoue made history by becoming undisputed champion in a new division, for he had won all four bantamweight titles in the past. His undefeated record now stands at 26 wins and 23 knockouts, while Tapales’ record stands at 37 wins and 4 losses.
