Tapales rooting for Inoue, keen on 'Monster vs Nightmare' showdown

MANILA, Philippines — Newly minted International Boxing Federation and World Boxing Association super bantamweight champion Marlon Tapales badly wants Japanese sensation Naoya Inoue to prevail in his upcoming fight as this will inevitably pave the way for a mammoth showdown between them.

Tapales (37-3, with 19 KOs) already fulfilled his end of the bargain when he pulled off a split-decision win over Murodjon Akhmadaliev of Uzbekistan last April 8 in San Antonio, Texas to wrest two of the four major titles at 122 pounds. 

It is now Inoue’s turn to try to seize the other half of the belts from their current owner — American Stephen Fulton — who will stake the titles against the knockout artist on July 25 in Tokyo, Japan.

And Tapales’ money is on the heavy-handed Japanese.

“Inoue had been the top dog in the lower divisions. He really is the star,” the 31-year-old Filipino champion told a handful of sportswriters in Filipino during an informal lunch Wednesday at a diner in Bonifacio Global City, Taguig.

Tapales prefers to fight Inoue over Fulton for style and marketability reasons, as he thinks the undefeated Inoue (24-0, with 21 KOs) is more tailor-made for him than the elusive Fulton (21-0, with 8 KOs), and is obviously the more popular fighter.

He, however, believes an Inoue victory is not guaranteed.

“It’s still a 50-50 fight,” added Tapales, who along with his team — composed of Sanman Promotions boss JC Mananquil and international matchmaker Sean Gibbons— will be ringside in Tokyo to personally witness Inoue and Fulton slug it out.

“I’m ready. I’m here. Good luck,” he said.

The Tubod, Lanao del Norte-born boxer who goes by the alias “The Nightmare” is so fixated on Inoue — aptly nicknamed “The Monster” — that he couldn’t help but call out the pound-for-pound star. 

“I got a message for ‘The Monster’. Hopefully he will win this fight so that we will meet. ‘The Monster’ and ‘The Nightmare’. Who will be the better fighter?”

“He’s a Monster but I know he has a nightmare — and that’s me. Don’t sleep, man,” Tapales ended.