TAKUMA INOUE BEATS FROILAN SALUDAR TO EARN TITLE SHOT AT WBO BANTAMWEIGHHT CHAMPION MARLON TAPALES
By Ronnie Nathanielsz
PhilBoxing.com
Mon, 05 Sep 2016
Japan?s Takuma Inoue came off the canvas in the opening round of a furious ten round battle in which he decked Filipino Froilan ?The Sniper? Saludar twice, in rounds eight and nine, to earn a crack at WBO bantamweight champion Marlon ?The Nightmare? Tapales at the famed Korakuen Hall in Tokyo on December 30.
Salud had received several offers for Tapales to defend his title in London against former IBF champion Paul ?Baby Faced Assassin? Butler who is 27 years old and has a record of 21-1 with 12 knockouts. However, Wakee hadn?t received any details on the purse offer and ancillary rights. There were also offers from Puerto Rico and even Vietnam but promoter/manager Rex ?Wakee? Salud chose to have the newly-crowned bantamweight champion make the first defense of his title in negotiations finalized with Japanese journalist/matchmaker Joe Koizumi who represented the camp of Takuma Inoue.
The 20 year old Inoue who fought as a bantamweight for the first time, earned a hard-fought unanimous ten round decision over Saludar with scores of 97-90 on the scorecards of two judges, Kazuo Abe and Biney Martin and 96-91 on the scorecard of the third judge Kazutoshi Yoshida. The referee was Yuji Fukuchi.
Takuma is the younger brother of the more popular WBO super flyweight champion Naoya Inoue.
Takuma Inoue who is ranked No. 4 by the WBC has a record of 8-0 with 2 knockouts.
The southpaw Tapales is coming off a stunning KO victory over Thai champion Pungluang Sor Singyu in a fight in which the Filipino got off the canvas twice in round five to comeback and drop the Thai world champion in the very next round before eventually blasting Pungluang into submission in the 11th round.
WBO fight supervisor and Asia Pacific vice president Leon Panoncillo told The Standard ?it was one of the best fights I?ve ever seen in Thailand.?
Photo: Takuma Inoue (R) throws a left on Saludar during their 10-round bantamweight bout at the Sky Arena in Zama, Kanagawa, Japan Sunday.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ronnie Nathanielsz.
Recent PhilBoxing.com In-House articles:
Fit To Be Unified: Xander Zayas Defeats Abass Baraou To Unify Junior Middleweight World Titles
Sun, 01 Feb 2026Fit To Be Unified: Xander Zayas Defeats Abass Baraou To Unify Junior Middleweight World Titles
Sun, 01 Feb 2026Trazo beats Jabagat in Talisay
By Lito delos Reyes, Sun, 01 Feb 2026Into fights Sanchez on Feb. 9 at Villa Kristen
By Lito delos Reyes, Sun, 01 Feb 2026Teofimo Lopez vs Shakur Stevenson: Styles Make Fights Fitting Cliche
By Chris Carlson, Sat, 31 Jan 2026Bryan Flores Wins Majority Decision Over Starling Castillo in Main Event of ProBoxTV’s ‘The Contender Series’ at Live! Casino Hotel Maryland
Sat, 31 Jan 2026KinetixSports Legacy Run on March 1
By Lito delos Reyes, Sat, 31 Jan 2026THE RING 6: OFFICIAL WEIGHTS AND RUNNING ORDER FOR TEOFIMO LOPEZ VS. SHAKUR STEVENSON
Sat, 31 Jan 2026Legendary Soccer Player Sergio Ramos to make professional boxing debut
By Gabriel F. Cordero, Sat, 31 Jan 2026Weigh-In Results: Xander Zayas vs. Abass Baraou
Sat, 31 Jan 2026Teofimo vs Shakur Fight Analysis
By Ralph Rimpell, Sat, 31 Jan 2026Rohan Polanco-Christian Gomez Welterweight Showdown Canceled
Sat, 31 Jan 2026NEWCASTLE WEIGH-IN RESULTS AND FIGHT NIGHT RUNNING ORDER CONFIRMED AS MURTAZALIEV AND KELLY CLASH FOR WORLD TITLE
Fri, 30 Jan 2026Boxers Make Weight for Brico Santig’s Exciting 21-Bout Promotion in Thailand (PHOTOS)
By Carlos Costa, Fri, 30 Jan 2026“It’s time for TSABZ to shine” Get to know Tanaka Saburi as he retuns March 13 in Perth – Thunderdome 53
Fri, 30 Jan 2026