SPORTS SHORTS 247: MARLON TAPALES BATTLES HIROAKI TESHIGAWARA FOR IBF TITLE ELIMINATOR ON NOVEMBER 27
By Maloney L. Samaco
PhilBoxing.com
Tue, 26 Oct 2021
Former WBO world bantamweight champion Marlon Tapales will take the road to redemption when he takes on Japanese Hiroaki Teshigawara in an International Boxing Federation (IBF) super bantamweight title eliminator on November 27, 2021 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
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“I’ll do my very best in training because I’m so eager to win so that I can make up for my last fight in the US,” Tapales told SunStar Cebu.
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Tapales lost his last fight to Ryosuke Iwasa in the US for the interim IBF super bantamweight title at the Barclays Center, Brooklyn, New York on December 7, 2019. He got knocked down in the third round and was stopped in the 11th round by TKO.
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The 29-year-old Tapales said that he lost his focus during that fight but expected to redeem himself and mentally alert in his upcoming fight against Teshigawara.
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“I had a problem in my training camp. I wasn’t 100 percent. My mind was really not focused at that time,” he said. “I’m improving my defense and my movement for this fight.”
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Tapales trains with undefeated countryman super flyweight rising star Jade Bornea at the Brickhouse Boxing Club in Los Angeles, California under the tutelage of coaches Ernel Fontanilla and Lucas Sugar. He also honed up his skills at Freddie Roach’s Wild Card Boxing Club occasionally.
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Tapales last saw action atop the ring on November 21, 2020 at the Sanman Gym, General Santos City and scored a second round TKO of Eden Sonsona, a native of GenSan.
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The 31-year-old Teshigawara is the current Oriental and Pacific Boxing Federation (OPBF) super bantamweight champion. He’s on a 10-fight winning streak since a split decision loss to Ryo Akaho in 2016.
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The Japanese defeated Filipino boxers Junny Salogaol by second round TKO, Jetro Pabustan by 10th round TKO, Jason Canoy by unanimous decision, and Glenn Suminguit by fifth round KO.
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He won the WBO Asia Pacific bantamweight title against Pabustan and the vacant WBC-OPBF super-bantamweight title.
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Tapales has a career record of 34-3 with 17 knockouts, while Teshigawara is 22-2-2 with 15 knockouts. Tapales is rated No. 4 by IBF and Teshigawara is No. 3.
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The winner between Tapales and Teshigawara becomes the mandatory challenger of IBF and World Boxing Association super bantamweight king Murodjon Akhmadaliev, age 26 years of Chust, Uzbekistan.
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“This will be a great fight,” said Tapales. “I’m thankful that I have been given another chance. I’ll do my best to win this fight so that I’ll be able to fight for a world championship again.”
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Tapales seized the WBO bantamweight title by surviving two knockdowns before flooring Thai Pungluang Sor Singyu twice on the way to scoring a knockout in the 11th round before a jeering crowd in Ayutthaya, Thailand in July 17, 2016.
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In his first defense a year later, Tapales was stripped of the crown for weighing two pounds overweight but fought fiercely to stop Japanese challenger Shohei Omori by 11th round TKO on April 23, 2017 in Osaka, Japan.
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He rested for more than a year then made a ring comeback to win four of his next five fights, losing only to Japanese Ryosuke Iwasa. With the win over Tapales, Iwasa challenged Akhmadaliev for the title but was stopped by the Uzbek champion in the fifth round in his home country in Tashkent.
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Tapales is now preparing rigidly for the opportunity to avenge another Japanese fighter and the chance for a world title stint.
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“Marlon is 80 percent ready,” said coach Ting Ariosa as quoted by Quinito Henson of PhilStar Sports. “He’s been training with me and coach Ernel Fontanilla in Los Angeles for three months. Sparring days are Monday, Wednesday and Friday at the Wild Card Gym and he’s now doing eight rounds per session."
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"Basing on facts like his work ethic, sparring performance, ability to listen, study and learn the right skills and how to apply those necessary skills for a specific opponent, he’ll be 100 percent ready on Nov. 27. He can possibly surprise much more impress the boxing world,” added Ariosa.
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WBA, IBF, WBO, IBO heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk believes he can defeat WBC world champion Tyson Fury in a future unification fight. In September, Usyk outclassed Anthony Joshua in twelve rounds to grab the unified heavyweight titles at the Totenham Hotspur Stadium.
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Many analysts think Usyk is a small heavyweight to beat Fury, but the 2012 London Olympic gold medalist refutes it. "I do regard this fight a huge one. I see him as a very good fighter, good athlete, he talks a lot, he has a tongue. He claims he’s the king of the kings, but it’s only he who thinks that. That’s what I can say about him," Usyk told The Sun.
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Mikey Garcia is now planning of redirecting his boxing career after a great majority decision upset defeat to Sandor Martin. The former four-division champion is thinking of moving back down to light welterweight after a one-sided loss to Errol Spence Jr. and now a loss to Martin.
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“I think I'll come down to 140 pounds,” Garcia told ESNews.com. “There are better options. We'll do a fight at 140 and see where that puts me in line. One solid victory at 140 will help me regain my respect and position. It will make everyone realize there is much more.”
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Garcia also is opening the door for a future rematch with Martin. "Maybe we'll see each other again in the near future,” said Garcia. “Maybe I'll get a fight or two and it's enough to get a rematch, or maybe he actually holds a title at 140, and maybe I can actually challenge him at that time."
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Carlos Yulo may have failed to defend his floor exercise gold at the FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Championships, but he bounced back in a superb performance. Yulo capped a gold-medal performance in the vault final before winning silver in the parallel bars event at the Kitakyushu City Gymnasium in Japan.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Maloney L. Samaco.
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