By Karlo Sacamos
BAGUIO – At times while his body and hands were working the heavy bag, Marlon Tapales’ gaze wandered into the boxing ring beside him, making jokes and comments to his fellow trainees who were engaged in a sparring session.
Casually hitting two birds with one stone, the Filipino boxing champion looked at home inside the Shape-Up Boxing Gym where he has set up camp for a month now ahead of his anticipated super-bantamweight title unification fight against 'Monster' Naoya Inoue on December 26 in Japan.
READ Tapales draws confidence from perfect Japan record ahead of Inoue fight
So while Tapales knows he’s facing a heavy favorite in the unbeaten Japanese sensation, there’s a sense of confidence considering the work he has put in during his ongoing training camp that moved from Las Vegas to now in the high-altitude Summer Capital of the Philippines.
“Yung mga laban ko naman, palagi akong underdog, so hindi na bago sa akin yun. Hindi na bago sa atin yung mga sinasabi nila,” Tapales said after training on Monday.
“Kabataan ko pa lang, lumalaban na ako. Nagsu-survive na ako, so yang mga ganyan, wala na yan sa’kin,” the 31-year-old pride of Tubod, Lanao del Norte added.
Tapales has reason to be confident. He’s on a roll, having won his last four fights (37-3 overall), the latest a split decision against Murodjon Akhmadaliev last April that allowed him to capture the WBA and IBF super-bantamweight titles.
But Tapales admits there will always be jitters facing Inoue, who is undefeated in 25 fights, the latest a clinical technical knockout win over Stephen Fulton to bag the WBC and WBO super-bantamweight belts in his first try in the 122-pound division.
“Yun kaba, normal lang sa tao. Pinaka-importante yung kaba. Yun yung pinakamagandang challenge para mag-tiyaga ka ng husto,” Tapales said.
Sparring on Monday for 10 rounds with three partners in former bantamweight contender Vincent Astrolabio, Kevin Aseniero, and Pete Apolinar, who tried to simulate Inoue’s style, Tapales hopes to exploit any hole in Japanese foe’s armor.
“Lahat naman tayo may weakness, so meron yan.” Tapales said without elaborating.
One thing going for Tapales is being a natural super bantamweight, compared to Inoue, who’s fighting in the weight class for only the second time.
“Kampante ako na may bentahe ako kay Inoue, pero hindi kumpiyansa,” he said.
Tapales flaunts fitness
Tapales flaunted his stamina as he had little rest in between the sparring sessions and heavy bag, apart from mitts with trainer Ernel Fontanilla, shadowboxing, and speed bag, before capping his day with ab work with strength and conditioning coach Quincy Hatcher.
Tapales and his team, led by Sanman Promotions chief JC Managquil, are set to travel to Manila on December 17 then will fly to Japan two days later ahead of his bid to become undisputed champion.
It’s a tall order, but Tapales promises one thing.
“Gusto ko talaga ng laban, magandang laban. Tsaka of course, gusto ko i-enjoy ‘tong laban na ‘to, kasi bihira lang para sa akin na isang boksingero na makalaban yung nasa top talaga ng pound-for-pound, so I’m very thankful na makalabang ko ‘tong tao na ‘to. Ibig sabihin nandun din ako.”
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