Japan’s Naoya Inoue on Tuesday said he was still as hungry as ever after becoming an undisputed world champion in a second weight class, knocking out Marlon Tapales to claim all four super bantamweight belts.
The unbeaten Inoue, nicknamed “Monster,” floored the Philippine fighter with a huge right hand in the 10th round in Tokyo to add the WBA and IBF titles to his own WBC and WBO belts.
He became only the second man to unify all four world titles in two different weight classes, following the US’ Terence Crawford.
Photo: AFP
Inoue needed just two fights to become the first-ever undisputed super bantamweight world champion, 12 months after completing his rampage through the bantamweight division.
The 30-year-old took his record to 26-0 with 23 knockouts, and said he was just getting started at the higher weight class.
“One year ago, I was in a similar situation after claiming all four belts,” said Inoue, who last year became the first undisputed bantamweight champion in half a century before vacating his titles to move up a division.
“I wanted to show my appreciation to all the people who had supported my career, but regardless of the fact that I have these four belts, I still want to fight more great matches,” he said.
Inoue knocked out the US’ Stephen Crawford in his super bantamweight debut in July, but he had to dig deeper to see off Tapales.
The 31-year-old from the Philippines went down in the fourth round, but clawed his way back into the match with a dogged performance.
Inoue finally ended Tapales’ challenge with a ferocious right hand that his opponent never looked like getting up from.
Inoue said Tapales was a “very tough” fighter who surprised him with his strong defense.
“He kept a poker face throughout and didn’t show that my punches were doing him any damage, so I was quite surprised when he went down in the 10th round,” he said.
Tapales upset Uzbekistan’s Murodjon Akhmadaliev by split decision in April to win the IBF and WBA titles.
He vowed to come back from the loss, but conceded that the result was a fair one.
“I was impressed by Inoue’s technique as a boxer, and I was surprised by his speed,” said Tapales, whose record dropped to 37-4 with 19 knockouts.
“He was very fast and I just wasn’t able to catch up with him,” Tapales added.
Inoue has won world titles in four different weight divisions, having also triumphed at the light flyweight and super flyweight levels.
He knocked out England’s Paul Butler in December last year to become the first undisputed bantamweight world champion since Panama’s Enrique Pinder in 1972.
Crawford beat fellow American Errol Spence in July to win all the welterweight belts and become the first man to unify all four world titles in two different weight classes.
Inoue said he felt “a sense of achievement” after following in Crawford’s footsteps.
“I think super bantamweight is the most suitable weight class for me at the moment,” Inoue said. “Next year and the year after that, I want to prove that I can become an even stronger fighter.”
Inoue has said that he intends to retire at 35, but he hinted earlier this year that he might prolong his career for an two extra years.
He said his performances would dictate when he hangs up his gloves.
“If I feel like I’m slowing down, I might even retire before I’m 35, but I don’t want to talk about retirement just now,” he said.
OFFENSE SHINES: First baseman Pan Chie-kai hit a solo homer in the fifth inning as all 10 batters Taiwan used contributed at least one hit toward their team total of 14 One day after their first shutout loss at the WBSC Premier12, Taiwan yesterday bounced back with a commanding 8-2 victory over the US, keeping their hopes for a spot in tomorrow’s final alive. The win in the Super Round marked Taiwan’s first triumph over the US at a top-tier international baseball tournament since 2003. Their previous win over the US was at the 2003 Baseball World Cup, with only one win in the previous 10 matchups since 1999. Yesterday’s game was tightly contested through the first six innings, with the margin never exceeding two runs. However, the tide turned in the top of
“Please love us. Please cheer us on. We have been working hard. Do not give up on us.” Taiwan captain Chen Chieh-hsien’s heartfelt plea echoed across the World Baseball Softball Confederation’s (WBSC) Premier12 tournament after a historic victory. Rather than boasting, Chen was making an earnest appeal after leading Taiwan to a 4-0 victory over Japan to claim their first major international baseball title at the senior level. Chen’s decisive three-run homer in the fifth inning and his Premier12 leading .632 batting average secured him the Premier12’s Most Valuable Player (MVP) title. He was also named one of the tournament’s outstanding defensive players
WELL-AGED: Although the youngest team in the tournament, Taiwan featured several veteran stars, including Sunday’s home-run hero Chen Chieh-hsien “I will never forget today,” veteran Taiwanese pitcher Chen Kuan-yu said after Taiwan on Sunday night blanked Japan to secure their first ever gold in the World Baseball Softball Confederation’s (WBSC) Premier12 championship. Chen, who at 34 is the oldest member on the team, said Taiwan “made every difficult step to come to today’s victory. I will never forget today.” Taiwan made history when they won their first gold medal of the Premier12 tournament, beating Japan in a 4-0 shutout victory in the final at the Tokyo Dome. It was a jaw-dropping victory for many baseball commentators who went into the game with
Nikola Jokic on Saturday scored 34 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to spark the Denver Nuggets over the Los Angeles Lakers 127-102, continuing their dominance of the NBA rivalry, while Scotty Pippen Jr scored a career-best 30 points to lead the Memphis Grizzlies past the Chicago Bulls, 142-131. The Nuggets won for the 13th time in the past 14 contests against the Lakers, including ousting the Lakers in the playoffs the past two seasons. Serbian star Jokic failed to achieve his sixth consecutive triple-double, managing only eight assists, but his effort was plenty as Michael Porter Jr added 24 points and 11
RSS