Throwback video: Naoya Inoue KO’s Marlon Tapales to become two-weight king
Naoya Inoue is set for his next fight against Sam Goodman in January
Naoya Inoue is set for his next fight against Sam Goodman on January 25 at Ariake Arena in Tokyo. Kicking off the year, the Japanese four-division world champion makes the third defense of his undisputed title at super bantamweight.
Inoue (28-0, 25 KOs) collected all four major belts at 122 lbs at the same venue a year ago today. Battling it out on Boxing Day, “The Monster” faced fellow world champion Marlon Tapales.
The scheduled 12-round contest ended prior to the final bell. Inoue, who put his unified WBC and WBO titles on the line, claimed the IBF and WBA belts from Tapales by knockout.
The representative of the country-host tagged his opponent late in the fourth round with a left hand and dropped with a series of punches. The guest from the Philippines went down for the second and final time at 1:02 into the 10th round from a big right hand. At the time of a stoppage the scores were 88-82, 90-80, and 89-81, all in favor of the local fighter.
With the victory, Naoya Inoue became the undisputed champion in the second weight class. Earlier in his career, the 31-year-old earned the undisputed title at bantamweight.
Alongside Inoue, today’s list of the undisputed champions in two weight classes also includes Oleksandr Usyk and Terence Crawford. Usyk of Ukraine got on top of the “four-belt” era at cruiserweight and heavyweight. Crawford of Omaha, NE secured all major straps at super lightweight and welterweight.
