TOKYO, Japan — Having just tasted the fast and furious fists of Naoya Inoue, Filipino fighter Marlon Tapales offered one simple piece of advice to those intending to become a Monster-killer.
“Good luck,” said Tapales, who absorbed a tenth-round knockout in their world super-bantamweight unification match Tuesday night at the Ariake Arena.
Tapales sounded a bit sarcastic when he responded to the query, eliciting laughter from those in attendance.
Can’t blame him.
Inoue unleashed his fury against Tapales, who came into the scheduled 12-rounder hoping to become the first Filipino boxer to win an undisputed title.
Dangling his World Boxing Association and International Boxing Federation straps, Inoue violently took them away to supplement his World Boxing Council and World Boxing Organization belts.
Though Tapales had his moments, it was an all-Inoue show from the start.
He decked Tapales in the fourth frame and could have wrapped it all up in that round had it not been for the sound of the bell.
Inoue then needed six more extra rounds to get the job done as he floored the Filipino lefty with a jarring right to the head for the full count of 10.
Mexican power-puncher Luis Nery, who has gained some sort of notoriety in Japan, looks poised to challenge Inoue.
But given his glass jaw, it doesn’t appear he would be able to endure the pain and punishment Inoue would be inflicting when they collide in May.
