MANILA, Philippines — Ramdam na ramdam ni dating WBA at IBF super bantamweight champion Marlon Tapales ang lakas ni undisputed world titlist Naoya Inoue.
Lumasap ang Pinoy champion ng 10th round knockout loss sa WBC at WBO ruler na si Inoue upang maagaw ng Japanese pug ang kanyang mga WBA at IBF belts.
Aminado si Tapales na nagulantang ito sa bilis at bagsik ni Inoue.
Maganda rin aniya ang naging teknik ng Japanese fighter sa buong panahon ng laban.
“I was impressed by Inoue’s technique as a boxer, and I was surprised by his speed,” ani Tapales.
Bumagsak ang rekord ni Tapales sa 37-4 tampok ang 19 KOs.
“He was very fast and I just wasn’t able to catch up with him,” dagdag noa i Tapales.
Dahil sa panalo ay itinanghal si Inoue bilang ikalawang boksingero sa mundo na nakuha ang apat na world titles sa dalawang magkaibang dibisyon.
Una na itong nagawa ni Terence Crawford.
“One year ago, I was in a similar situation after claiming all four belts. I wanted to show my appreciation to all the people who had supported my career,” ani Inoue.
Handa si Inoue na lumaban upang maipagpatuloy ang kaniyang magandang karera.
“But regardless of the fact that I have these four belts, I still want to fight more great matches,” dagdag ni Inoue.
Hindi rin naging madali ang panalo kay Inoue.
Nahirapan din ito kay Tapales na itinuturing nitong isa sa mga mahuhusay na kaniyang nakalaban.
“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 tenth round,” ani Inoue.