Naoya Inoue just concluded the first week of his training in preparation for a much-awaited unification showdown with fellow two-belt super-bantamweight titleholder Marlon Tapales in Japan.
Though no official date has been issued for the fight, Inoue has gone full blast in his buildup for his bid to unify all the boxing belts in the 122-lb class.
Inoue holds the World Boxing Council and World Boxing Organization straps while Tapales owns the World Boxing Association and International Boxing Federation crowns.
An announcement is expected soon but it is likely that the fight will happen sometime in the middle of December or late-December, according to sources with knowledge of the talks.
Tokyo is going to host the scheduled 12-rounder with the Ariake Arena emerging as the top candidate to stage the landmark bout.
Like Inoue, Tapales is also immersed in training in Las Vegas.
The Filipino southpaw is busy working with King Arthr Villanueva as sparmate but new recruits will be arriving soon to beef up the sparring sessions.
Meanwhile, Jerwin Ancajas, who is also training alongside Tapales, is likewise going all-out in his preparation for a 15 November crack at Takuma Inoue’s WBA bantamweight plum at theRyogoku Kokugikan Sumo Arena in Tokyo.
Takuma is the brother of pound-for-pound star Naoya.
