Naoya Inoue once again broke history, becoming only the second fighter after Terrence Crawford to unify the World Title in four major organizations in two divisions, and the first fighter from Asia to do so.
In the unification battle of the professional boxing super bantamweight (122 pounds) world boxing champion on the night of December 26, 2024, Naoya Inoue performed well at the Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan.
He knocked Filipino fighter Marlon Tapales twice and finally defeated his opponent by knockout in the 10th round, successfully unifying the World Championship titles of the four major organizations of WBA, WBC, IBF, and WBO super bantamweight, and becoming the undisputed hegemon of the division. Before the game, the outside world generally had confidence in Naoya Inoue.
At the weighing ceremony, Marlon Tapales' cheeks were sunken and his eyes were blank because of his strict weight control, which further confirmed the major **. At the start of the bout, Inoue tested his rival first, steadily using jabs to control the distance and occasionally throwing heavy right hands.
Marlon Tapales was cautious, tightly defending, and didn't throw punches easily, but his left-handed punches accurately penetrated Inoue's defense and showed his title. Next, Marlon Tapales countered defensively, and Inoue's offense became more fluid, causing problems for his rival with heavy right hand.
Marlon Tapales tried to return with a jab, but only to draw a more intense right hand from Inoue. In the third round, Marlon Tapales continued his defensive tactics from the first two rounds. Naoya Inoue didn't get the desired effect at the start of the fight, so he increased the frequency and intensity of his strikes.
Although his combination was successful in pushing Marlon Tapales to the rope side, it was difficult to break down his opponent's tight takedown guard. Naoya Inoue had to wait patiently in front of Marlon Tapales to find a flaw. At the start of the fourth round, Inoue was in good shape and played a wide range of plays, which allowed Marlon Tapales to spot a flaw, so he slammed into the close-quarters and the two quickly exchanged fierce battles.
Although the two men hit each other a similar number of times, the difference in strength soon became apparent. Toward the end of the round, Inoue unleashed back-to-back combinations of left hooks, straight right, and left hooks that knocked Marlon Tapales to the canvas. However, the round ended quickly, giving Marlon Taparles a breather.
In the fifth round, Inoue's offense intensified, and it was clear that he wanted to end the bout in the round, but Marlon Tapales showed incredible resilience and gritted his teeth and tried to fight back after repeated heavy punches. In the melee, Marlon Tapales also landed heavy punches to Naoya Inoue, hindering his continued attack.
In the sixth round, Inoue took a rare take on control, taking the initiative to distance himself from Marlon Tapales and trying to strike on the perimeter. Marlon Tapales didn't have a reach advantage, but he didn't take the beating, he started to press forward and countered, and it had some effect.
However, Inoue didn't let Marlon Tapales' forward pressure last long, and in the final minute of the round, Inoue continued to attack, sending Marlon Tapales back with coherent combinations. In the seventh round, Marlon Tapales reverted to counter-attacking tactics, which were clearly the best tactics for him.
With Naoya Inoue's punches, Marlon Tapalles deftly maneuvers around his opponents and occasionally counters. In the eighth round, the bout returned to its initial form, with Naoya Inoue attacking steadily while Marlon Taparles defended tightly.
The difference is that Marlon Tapales, who has warmed up well, has been able to use the attack of Naoya Inoue to use one side of his body as a "shield", always facing Naoya Inoue. Naoya Inoue showed great strength by coming out on top of the contest against Marlon Tapales.
As the ninth round progressed, Inoue began to kick up the frequency of his punches to put pressure on Marlon Tapales. Although Marlon Tapales managed to dodge some heavy blows, he was not seriously injured. However, by the tenth round, Inoue's offense became more ferocious, with a series of consecutive strikes that left Marlon Tapales on the back and eventually dropped to the canvas with heavy blows.
Although Marlon Tapales tried to get up and continue the fight, the referee announced that he could not continue, and the bout ended by knockout with Naoya Inoue winning. Marlon Tapales' record has changed to 37-4, with 19 knockouts and two world titles, both in the WBA and IBF.
Naoya Inoue became the star of the night, improving his record to 26 wins and 23 knockouts. He set the record for the fastest unification of two divisions, which is a remarkable achievement. While some may expect him to upgrade, Inoue made it clear after the fight that he'll continue to compete in the ultra-bantamweight division (122 pounds) for the next year or two.
Super bantamweight ushers in an era of domination of Japanese monsters, and Naoya Inoue's strong performance foreshadows that.