On April 8, 2023, Marlon Tapales surprised many when he upset unified super bantamweight champion Murodjon Akhmadaliev in a 12-round bout in San Antonio. After winning his first two world titles, Tapales is looking to take the toughest challenge he can in his next outing. Moments after Naoya Inoue defeated Stephen Fulton Jr. to capture two super bantamweight titles, Tapales met him in the ring and verbally agreed to an undisputed title bout later this year.
“I want to fight Naoya Inoue. I want to prove to myself that I’m a champion,” Tapales said.
It’s unclear when the bout may happen, but if Inoue hopes it will take place before the end of 2023.
“I want to be undisputed champion by the end of the year,” Inoue said.
In order to achieve his goal, the Japanese fighter believes he will have to continue to improve at his new weight class.
“I believe I was able to show my increased speed and power in this bout,” Inoue said on Tuesday.
“But I still have room to improve, so I’ll get stronger as a super bantam.”
