Naoya “The Monster” Inoue, the WBC/WBO junior featherweight champ, really stirred up the boxing world yet again.
This titan from Japan, known far and wide as a pound-for-pound juggernaut, sent Filipino champ Marlon Tapales packing in a knockout frenzy during the 10th round, seizing the undisputed junior featherweight title this Tuesday at Tokyo’s Ariake Arena.
With this triumph, Inoue lines up alongside Terence Crawford as one of the only gents to claim the two-weight undisputed champion title in this era of the four belts. Sporting a record that screams dominance – 21-0 in title fights with 19 of those ending in knockouts – Inoue has now sent his last seven opponents to dreamland.
Tapales, a champ in his own right across two weight divisions, watched his winning streak of four fights crumble to dust.
Inoue, beaming with pride, said, “Snagging that knockout felt unreal. The guy didn’t even look tired or hurt, so when he hit the canvas in the 10th, I was honestly gobsmacked.
“This fight was a rollercoaster of intensity, probably one of my toughest. But my corner was there, cheering me on and keeping my head in the game.”
Earlier this year, Tapales snatched up the unified world championship and entered the ring with fire in his eyes, aiming to put the brakes on Inoue with a relentless attack on the body. Inoue, not one to back down, retaliated with his own ferocious body shots, dominating the early rounds. A flurry of left hooks in the fourth had Tapales tasting the mat, though he managed to scramble up just as the round was closing.
Finding his groove in the middle rounds, Tapales pushed Inoue back, delivering some solid body shots in rounds seven and eight. However, “The Monster” hit his stride in the ninth and delivered the final blow in the 10th with a right hand that had Tapales counting stars. The king of the pound-for-pound fighters, who kicked off his career at a mere 108 pounds, just expanded his already impressive belt collection.