If the proposed mouth-watering matchup with Naoya Inoue doesn’t materialize, a solid Plan B is on standby for Marlon Tapales.
Though both camps have agreed to unify the world super-bantamweight belts, an official agreement has yet to be reached.
Inoue is fresh from snatching the World Boxing Association and World Boxing Organization straps after a sensational knockout win over Stephen Fulton in Tokyo.
Tapales, holder of the World Boxing Association and International Boxing Federation jewels, has agreed in principle to risk the two titles but both parties are still on the negotiating table.
It seems that Inoue’s promotional team hasn’t impressed Tapales’ people with their offer.
And if Tapales decides that the offer is not good enough, he will likely abandon plans of unifying all four championships in favor of making a defense against former world champion Tomoki Kameda.
“They’ve always wanted to fight Marlon,” JC Mananquil told Daily Tribune when asked about the status of the negotiations with Inoue’s camp.
Kameda, 32, has a 43-3 record with 22 knockouts and is known for his all-action Mexican-style boxing.
Tapales had won the two 122-lb crowns last April when he upset Uzbekistan’s Murodjon Akhmadaliev in San Antonio, Texas.
He has been doing light workouts in General Santos City the past few days and is slated to head back to the United States late this month to commence training camp if the Inoue unification pushes through.
Still, all is not lost since the Inoue showdown won’t be taking place until November or December with Tokyo as venue.
But Tapales’ handlers swear they won’t settle for crumbs and will explore a Kameda defense if Inoue doesn’t come up with a juicier offer.
Tapales, a southpaw, is the country’s only world champion at the moment.
