Marlon Tapares poses on the scales in Japan. Photo credit: Wendell Alinea
Marlon Tapales, despite being thousands of miles away from home in Japan, is no stranger to the territory. Even though he holds two world title belts, he is considered a heavy underdog in his upcoming undisputed junior featherweight unification bout against Naoya Inoue at the Ariake Arena in Koto, Japan on Tuesday morning (US time).
Tapares is accustomed to being an underdog and thrives in such circumstances. “It’s nothing new to me. I’ve been an underdog all my life,” said IBF/WBA 122-pound titleholder Tapares (37-3, 19 KOs). “I’ll put on a show on December 26th, and I will emerge victorious.”
The bout for the vacant Ring Magazine junior featherweight title will be broadcast live on ESPN+ in the United States starting at 3 a.m. Tuesday and on One Sports in the Philippines starting at 7 p.m. local time.
Despite being underrated in the boxing world and in his native Philippines, Tapares has been prominently featured in Tokyo this week, with posters, billboards, and taxi ads promoting the fight.
Tapares’ journey to this moment has been a challenging one. He grew up on a rice farm in the Philippines, dropped out of high school due to economic hardships, and became a professional boxer at the age of 16 without any amateur experience. Despite the odds, he went on to win multiple matches and claim his first world title in 2016.
Tapares, although a champion, was relatively unknown in his home country, with his title fight not even being broadcast on domestic television. He faced setbacks and losses but managed to reclaim the spotlight with his upcoming fight against Inoue.
While Inoue is the favorite in the upcoming bout, Tapares remains focused and confident, aiming to make history as the first Filipino undisputed world champion.
Tapares’ victory would not only be a significant achievement for Philippine boxing but for the sport as a whole.
Ryan Songalia has written for ESPN, the New York Daily News, Rappler, and the Guardian, and is a 2020 graduate of the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism. Contact details are as follows: [email protected].
