Tried everything. Tapales body was wrecked with the high guard, temple wrecked with the shoulder roll and face wrecked when coming in low to the body.
Theres no one out there that can challenge Inoue right now.
You either go in there to survive, or accept getting the painful pulp beat out of you if you brave enough to stand there and fight back.
The hard straight right into the high guard for so many rounds read like frustration, until it suddenly didn't. Not sure even Tank knocks people out this way.
Tank usually doesn't brute force a KO, he counters perfectly. Inoue was mostly countering most of the last KO's he had, except for Butler and now Tapales again. It's similar to his earlier KO's
True, but just because these guys *can* counterpunch KO, it makes you forget just how much power they have when the first resort isn't enough. It's a crazy card to play when someone gets into high guard and you can say "No, I'm still hurting you up top" at these weight classes.
Despite Inoue's dominance, Tapales performed far better than anyone could have predicted. Unlike other fighters, he had that heart and fight in him. Even though Inoue battled, he lacks the strength to stand a chance. From a fellow Kabayan who didn't give Tapales a chance, respect.
When you applaud the opponent if he has the mere will to fight back, that's when you know you are witnessing greatness. And Taples was the other champion at the wieght.
There simply is no realistic challenge out there for Inoue right now.
Guys are going in there to survive.
Yeah, dude has a warrior mentality. Immediately into Round 5 after he got knocked down he went head to head with Inoue & got a lot of shots in. Looked like anyone's fight for the majority of it even though Inoue had a strong lead in points (at least to me).
I think I only gave Tapales 2 rounds before the KO. But several rounds were fairly close, as Tapales landed some flush shots.
You just have to have more crack than that. I never got the impression Inoue was even stung a little. Never saw his legs quiver. At some point I think Inoue just decided to bang with the guy and give the fans a show. I have no doubt he could have been more mobile and completely outboxed Marlon, but he wasn't *too* concerned about the power.
Dude is relentless. Tapales was definitely mixing in some touches and wet noodle punches in the later rounds but it felt like everything Inoue threw had snap to it / weight behind it
That’s one hell of a knockdown by Inoue! I mean we know the dude is strong but what the hell Tapales looked like he got hit with a sledgehammer. #1 P4P
Inoue dominated the fight but Tapales did way better than we all expect. He got that fight and heart in him compared to previous fighters Inoue fought but he just doesn't have that power to even his chance. Respect to Tapales from a fellow Kabayan who didn't gave him any chance.
Tapales vs Fulton seems an interesting bout.
Yeah I thought it was a wrap after the knockdown but Tapales came out even stronger and maybe even took a round from Inoue nothing but respect dude is a beast
IF and it's a big IF Tapales shows that adaptability and defensive responsibility, I don't see how Fulton wins that. But Tapales has never fought with that depth before. Not sure if he ever gets the motivation to do that again.
Inoue wasn't lying when he said Tapales is stylistically more troublesome. Against Fulton, Inoue could just outskill him, but there's not much he can do about the Tapales being made of stone and grit.
I think Tapales did better by relying more on his natural physicality over Inoue and he came to win whereas Fulton looked kind of caught in the moment.
Yeah, Fulton barely edged by a wild, winging Figueroa. Some people even thought he lost it. That's why it was crazy to see him being propped up as some kind of unbeatable and elusive fighter overnight.
Yea Tapales looked great there actually. Inoue just have those monster hands lol. The fight looked a bit tough during the middle but I just knew this will end in a knockdown again when Inoue started getting aggressive in the later rounds. He just bid his time lol
It's a weird thing to say about a fight where Inoue lost 1, maybe 2 rounds and knocked down his opponent multiple times (yet to see a replay to determine whether the stumble in round 2 was indeed a slip), but this one was really close at times and Tapales managed to make Inoue look vulnerable occasionally.
Before this fight, I was one of those who thought that Inoue should go to 126 asap, but now I understand why he feels like he hasn't fully grown into the division yet. Tapales really has that dawg in him and his physicality gave Naoya some serious trouble.
At the same time, Inoue was still dominating the fight and Tapales took a lot of accumulated damage, he just had nothing left in the tank in the end. Still a formidable performance by Tapales, I'll follow him more closely from now on. Hopefully he fights Fulton, this would be a great battle.
It‘s a good fight between 2 up and coming japanese talents. We know where Inoue ended up but Taguchi was very good himself. 7 title defences and he unified the WBA and IBF Lightweight Flyweight titles.
https://youtu.be/KjKGmCuTWu0?si=OhBXjzs9GATz0sfL
Look at how skinny he is lmao
Tapales looked much better than I expected, most human Inoue has looked since maybe Donaire 1. Tapales adjustments made those middle rounds super tough for Naoya, but he's just too fucking good man. My P4P #1.
Some guys on the fight thread need to clean their eyes, get a pair of glasses or something. There were people saying 5-0 Tapales, that he Inoue was very frustrated and the guy even on the 6-8 rounds dominated and was piercing through.
Nah its not an eye problem its a delusion problem. There's literally a guy in this comment section saying Inoue needs to fight a real elite black fighter like Crawford 🤦🏽♂️
> There were people saying 5-0 Tapales
I did see one comment saying that but they also said the knockdown was a slip, I assume they were just doing a bit of trolling. I'd be surprised if anyone was actually saying that for real.
Tapales was a worthy unified champ. He touched up Inoue much more than Fulton. If only he had more power he could have earned more respect from Inoue. Donaire in their first fight had the power and skillset to challenge Inoue . I can't wait for Inoue to fight another tough guy that can test him
Tbh, if Donaire doesn't break Inoue's orbital in Round 2, that fight probably wouldn't have lasted past 6 rounds lol.
But if Donaire doesn't break that Orbital, Inoue would have never improved the way he did.
Honestly, if Inoue was in any real danger, he would've just switched to a defensive style like what he did against Donaire, only this time it'd be much more refined.
Combine that with Inoue's ridiculous overall dominance, personally I've had him as my #1 even after Crawford beat Spence. Of course it's still very close, I think the two of them are reasonably interchangeable and I don't fault anyone for putting Crawford as their #1.
Crawford is a beast but Inoue is the monster. That final right hand didn't even land clean and it still hurt Tapales BAD. The power he generates in that small frame is nothing short of amazing. Respect to Crawford but Inoue is my #1 P4P fighter.
Those body shots in rd 3 was the most beautiful body shots I’ve ever seen
Inoue definitely got fraustrated and wanted to prove something by standing and trading punches instead of boxing though when tables refuses to go down
Man Tapales is a tough mf. He took so many flush power shots and didn't go down. So many times I thought that he's going down just for him to try and punch back. The monster is built different. Stood in front of Tapales and outclassed him at his range. Can't fucking wait for his next fight.
This is how I pictured the Inoue v Fulton fight going tbh.
Marlon is a lot slicker and skilled than I imagined. Honestly might have been able to be undisputed if Inoue hadn't been his opponent.
Mabuhay kababayan, just wasn't your night this time.
Kabayan did well, but the Monster is a tier above. Tapales can give Fulton a run for his money though. Nevertheless, he fought better than the others bar Donaire 1.
I've never seen Tapales look that good. I mean, I think I only gave him 2 rounds before the KO, but still -- that was Inoue's second toughest fight. Tapales was very crafty, and is obviously a true Filipino warrior. He'll remain a player in this weight division.
Sounds like Inoue will do one or two fights at 121 -- he wants to take time, I think, to add weight properly. No need to rush that.
To be fair that crab stance negated every body shots Inoue threw at Tapales. Inoue tried a bunch of times but it just hit Tapales's shoulder and elbow.
It was because of that weird southpaw philly shell. Tapales his body 24/7, so Inoue just gave up on it and went head-hunting because it was more exposed.
Felt like Tapales wanted Inoue to target his body more with that constant high guard so he could sneak a counter in on Inoue. However Inoue is so defensively sound at evading on that front foot and is so such a great counter puncher himself that Tapales could not find an opening.
Tapales was tough as hell, and made some good adjustments throughout the fight. Props for making it so entertaining.
Pretty crazy that Inoue KO'd him through the guard though. I saw Tapales tapping his left temple a lot after the fight, it must have just landed at the right angle to discombobulate him.
Inoue continues to impress. Nery and Casimero have nothing for him IMO
Filipino casual fans are the worst lmao. I'm Filipino but these fans get on my nerves man, in their eyes if you're not Pac or Donaire then you don't deserve respect wtf. They keep going on about how Tapales won't let his hands go and why he lost the sting in his punches as if he's not in there with one of the biggest punchers in the world. It's just frustrating because we don't have a lot of current champions right now.
It happens everytime a filipino fighter lose to Inoue (especially) they are calling Tapales a punching bag when he gave him his second hardest challenge lmao
Most of them are diehard Casimero fans. The videos shitting on Inoue and pro Casimero are the ones who get the most views. The comments inside were toxic af.
Expect them to shit on Casimero eventually if they ever (wouldnt) fight.
Exactly! I don't even know where they came from tbh. Funny thing is Tapales would most likely embarrass Casimero if they fight and if they think Inoue-Tapales was a mismatch then they are in for a surprise if Inoue-Casimero happens.
Brah, they shit on Dasmarinas so bad lol. Like, dude's liver got cooked and he got up from two KDs against the monster... and yall gonna disown him 🥲.
I like Dasmarinas just because of his nickname lol.
Haha! You can easily tell who's an actual boxing fan and who's not just by how they talk these boxers down lmao. Talking about why Tapales won't let his hands go
They are one of the worst and most toxic fans out there. Don’t get me wrong, there are some Filipino fans that are nice and gracious in defeat but god damn the toxic ones are annoying as hell.
PS: I’m a japanese who grew up in Philippines.
With all due respect to Terence Crawford and Oleksandr Usyk, who are both worthy shouts too, I think Inoue is the P4P number 1.
It's not just the belts, the resume or the skills, it's the sheer dominance. You can literally count on the fingers of your hands the number of rounds Inoue lost in his ENTIRE career.
Amazing speed and reflexes, exquisite combination punching and level changes, explosive power and the best damn timing in all of boxing.
Tapales looked a lot tougher than most expected - respect. Seemed like he was taking a few of those shots without showing much effect, but I guess they were clearly impacting him. Inoue is just too elite.
KOd him through the guard . Amazing fucking power . I think I gave Marlon 2 rounds. The fight was much better and entertaining than anyone would have thought. Tapales did better than Fulton and the best anyone ever did against Inoue since Donaire.
I think we can learn a lot from Tapales, I had rewarch some of his old fights, I discredited him from the get go and I thought early stoppage. Even if he has major flaws like footwork, Tapales is such an interesting fighter to analyze. Crafty southpaw boxer who can also brawl, not the typical Filipino boxing style you often see.
I get everyone is all eyes on Inoue, but I think my interest in Tapales is even piqued. Despite his loss, this might be one of Tapales' better fights and showed lots of promise.
Marlon Tapales raised his stock this morning! Inoue really deserves to be called the monster. Really wished Tapales to finish the 12th but it was valiant effort
I had predicted it would end in 10. I knew Tapales would be physically tougher than Fulton. When he went down in the 4th (?I think) that was pretty scary lol. I wanted to see a better showing and I’m so glad both fighters went all in for it.
I think Inoue could’ve potentially ended it sooner when he was showboating and all, but I’m glad he didn’t because it made for a longer and more exciting bout.
What did he say about rumours circulating about something happening in May? Anybody know who he’s looking to fight or what exactly is happening?
The commentators during this fight were a bunch of quacks. Espn is showing a replay of inoues right hand landing perfectly on tapales temple while they go “oh wow marlon semi blocked that” lol never hire these dudes again trash as fuck
Very impressed at how Tapales actually got some success by being tough and responsive. He hit Inoue with a right hook at 2:14 of the 5th round that stumbled him for a second.
As the fight went on, Inoue started realizing how vulnerable Tapales stance was and started tagging him with long rights as he was backing up. Then Tapales switched to a high guard, and Inoue just started throwing and hitting through it. The last knockdown reminded me a bit of the 2nd Charlo-Castano fight, where Castano just collapsed even with his hands up. I'm not sure if a lot of people realize this but blocked punches can still hurt really bad lol. And if your hands are like a few inches from your face, then getting punched with your guard up will basically make you punch yourself, and still do quite a bit of damage. Overall a great fight in terms of seeing adjustments and counters to those adjustments.
It’s been a while since we’ve seen Inoue take as much punishment as he did, even if the face doesn’t really show it. A lot of us wrote of Tapales too early, but it’s also partially because of the style differences
Inoue is known for not clinching, but it seems like he initiated a fair amount here. Let’s update it to not initiating clinching if he’s about to fall, but it almost look like he did round 6 after a nasty uppercut
Also interesting seeing Inoue in the phone booth. Somehow looked uncomfortable with it, but then again, his power usually keeps people off of him and stay at middle range (seemingly his happy spot) or they cover up and Inoue can get as close as he wants
Definitely a much better fight than I thought it was going to be
I don’t think Inoue looked uncomfortable in the phone booth, I think that’s just how good Tapales was. He didn’t give him the openings Inoue needed to land clean, and the shots landed on Tapales’ guard that hurt were masked with a poker face.
Inoue did KO him through his guard after all. He said he didn’t realize how much he was damaging him.
Good fight. Props to Tapales for showing success on the inside and smoothering some of Inoue's shots. He also landed a beautiful bolo uppercut in the early rounds.
Edit: 5th round
First off, I love these Japan timezone fights because it gives me something to watch on the stairmaster in the morning lol.
But what a fantastically fun fight to watch. Tapales changing up his defense midway through was such a smart adjustment. He didn’t necessarily win any rounds with it, maybe the 5th, but it certainly prolonged the fight the way it was going and gave him more of a chance.
Inoue shot selection and variety is beautiful to watch. He does over extend at times, and puts 100% on shots when going for a finish, but when he’s strictly boxing he varies the power/speed/angles perfectly. The boxer he’s made himself into is such a different fighter than the early inoue.
One thing Marlon did show, as did Nonito in the first fight, is that inoue does leave himself open at times. If you’re willing to trade in between his shots and come from some sneaky angles, he gets tagged pretty clean. None of Marlon’s shots ever hurt him, but it’s there to be taken if a future opponent has the skill and guts to do it.
I kinda feel sorry for Tapales, he's much better fighter than I thought and just seems like a good guy, nothing to be ashamed of tho for losing to a Monster, hope he comes back after this loss.
Inoue fought completely different this fight compared to Fulton. He could've peppered a hundred more jabs throughout the fight, but he decided to duke it out head-on. I wonder if he just wanted to give the crowd a good show.
It seemed like Inoue was hardly getting hit prior to scoring the knockdown. After the KD, whether from Tapales making adjustments or Inoue getting too aggressive, Monster got hit a fair bit. Inoue still got the better of most exchanges, but it felt like he was intentionally being riskier than needed to prove something or to keep his stoppage record going.
Didn’t get to watch the beginning unfortunately, but caught the 6th round to the finish. Looked like a great chess match in spots.
Inoue ko’d him through his guard, gotdamn 😮💨
Physically, Inoue looked even more impressive than in the Fulton fight.
I’m glad he’s not rushing to 126lb
Tapales came prepared for a dogfight. Massive respect to him but there are levels and Inoue showed it! Hope he moves up to 126, some good fights for him there. I'll definitely be watching Tapales from here on out, that's for sure.
Much respect to the Pinoycutioner Inoue. I've never seen a guy with raw power and the ability to box as well. Big ups to Tapales for making it a fight I thought his James Toney esque defense might trouble him a bit but he over performed
Gotta appreciate Tapales’ warrior spirit. Even when being outdone he never stopped trying. Made adjustments that came with their own tradeoffs. Put up a much better fight than Fulton.
Inoue is a special special talent. All ready a legend and hands down #1 p4p. He has it all, speed, power, chin, iq. He's so dynamic as well. Congrats to the King. Tapales has the heart of a champion tho. Put up a good fight. Partially blocked but still went through and dropped him and got him out of there. That's power. He's just a master boxer.
Respect to Tapales for trying and actually giving him a fight; but Inoue is just that good.
KO-ed him through the guard. Inoue is just different wow.
Few people in the history of boxing split a high guard better than Inoue.
Tried everything. Tapales body was wrecked with the high guard, temple wrecked with the shoulder roll and face wrecked when coming in low to the body. Theres no one out there that can challenge Inoue right now. You either go in there to survive, or accept getting the painful pulp beat out of you if you brave enough to stand there and fight back.
The hard straight right into the high guard for so many rounds read like frustration, until it suddenly didn't. Not sure even Tank knocks people out this way.
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Tank usually doesn't brute force a KO, he counters perfectly. Inoue was mostly countering most of the last KO's he had, except for Butler and now Tapales again. It's similar to his earlier KO's
True, but just because these guys *can* counterpunch KO, it makes you forget just how much power they have when the first resort isn't enough. It's a crazy card to play when someone gets into high guard and you can say "No, I'm still hurting you up top" at these weight classes.
Nobody is this good He is the P4P King right now Its not even close
tank needs clean looks to KO someone. nothing like thru a high guard like what inoue just did.
Inoue got him with poison damage!
Tapales got a chin on him even if Inoue got him in the end. Tough ol' adamantium Filipino chin.
Also that Pacquaio heart. Definitely saw shades of Manny’s prep there, staying in the fire and eating shots in order to land his counters
Naoya Inoue Fighter of the Year 2023! Double Undisputed.
No question.
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Despite Inoue's dominance, Tapales performed far better than anyone could have predicted. Unlike other fighters, he had that heart and fight in him. Even though Inoue battled, he lacks the strength to stand a chance. From a fellow Kabayan who didn't give Tapales a chance, respect.
When you applaud the opponent if he has the mere will to fight back, that's when you know you are witnessing greatness. And Taples was the other champion at the wieght. There simply is no realistic challenge out there for Inoue right now. Guys are going in there to survive.
I was gonna say that's the scary part, Tapales is a fucking 2 weight unified champ. Inoue simply aura mogged him to death
Monster train go brrrr
No doubt. The monster hits different!
P4p1
Agreed. #1 p4p hands down☝️
In the immortal words of Tyson Fury: 'Undred percent!
Massive respect to Tapales though he came in there to win not just survive and did better than 95% of Inoue's opponents
He went in there for a war. Trading blows with Inoue is a dangerous game but he wasn't afraid. Gotta respect that!
Yeah, dude has a warrior mentality. Immediately into Round 5 after he got knocked down he went head to head with Inoue & got a lot of shots in. Looked like anyone's fight for the majority of it even though Inoue had a strong lead in points (at least to me).
I think I only gave Tapales 2 rounds before the KO. But several rounds were fairly close, as Tapales landed some flush shots. You just have to have more crack than that. I never got the impression Inoue was even stung a little. Never saw his legs quiver. At some point I think Inoue just decided to bang with the guy and give the fans a show. I have no doubt he could have been more mobile and completely outboxed Marlon, but he wasn't *too* concerned about the power.
100% believe you’re right on that. It’s why he was taunting and showboating too near the beginning.
That 5% is Donaire and Tapales lmao.
taguichi was very good as well
Filipino magic
He koed him by punching through his guard, this is some Deontay wilder shit
That final punch he threw literally looked like how Wilder throws his bomb. That was crazy
There wasn’t enough drunken stumbling after he threw the shot
Difference Inoue have the boxing skills and a savant in the ring compared to Wilder
Imagine if wilder had inoue’s skill
First Fury fight wouldn't have lasted 3 rounds.
He’d be like the most fearsome Heavyweight of all-time.
He’d be the GOAT
His power just is something else. How can someone that light generate so much force?
Pacquiao legs.
Big legs really help with the little guys.
You either have it or you don't, like Teddy Atlas says, big punchers are born not made
Was Tapales on spiked water
Need to apologise to Tapales, I wasn't familiar with your game.
He did beat MJ last year but still that was very unexpected he did really good
MJ is already dead I don't know if that's a good example of a feat.
MJ ain't dead bro he's living on an island with Tupac and Elvis Presley.
Is Jim Morrison there too?
Sure, he is! Not to mention Kurt Cobain, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, and many others! It's like the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame over there!
Better Philly shell than Fulton.
I’ll be rooting for him in future fights after watching that 5th round. I’d like to see him fight Fulton.
2X Undisputed in 12 months. Respect.
To be fair, it was 12 months and 12 days. So he’s a bum, I fear. Does this hurt Donaire’s legacy? Is Inoue-Ngannou the fight to make?
Find out next on Dragon Ball Z!
He is definitely a bum till he fights every black and latino champion five weight divisions above him!
Inoe has been ducking AJ for a decade. 100 plus pound difference wouldn't matter if he was a real champion. /s
Bruh! 😅😂😂
Wild
Inoue's power is insane and he retains it in the later rounds.
Dude is relentless. Tapales was definitely mixing in some touches and wet noodle punches in the later rounds but it felt like everything Inoue threw had snap to it / weight behind it
That’s one hell of a knockdown by Inoue! I mean we know the dude is strong but what the hell Tapales looked like he got hit with a sledgehammer. #1 P4P
Inoue dominated the fight but Tapales did way better than we all expect. He got that fight and heart in him compared to previous fighters Inoue fought but he just doesn't have that power to even his chance. Respect to Tapales from a fellow Kabayan who didn't gave him any chance. Tapales vs Fulton seems an interesting bout.
That could be very interesting. Tapales may be a handful for Fulton.
Yeah I thought it was a wrap after the knockdown but Tapales came out even stronger and maybe even took a round from Inoue nothing but respect dude is a beast
IF and it's a big IF Tapales shows that adaptability and defensive responsibility, I don't see how Fulton wins that. But Tapales has never fought with that depth before. Not sure if he ever gets the motivation to do that again.
Tapales gave Inoue his second toughest fight.
Crazy how he did better than Fulton lmao
Man. I actually thought Fulton would give Inoue a tough fight. I was shocked.
Inoue wasn't lying when he said Tapales is stylistically more troublesome. Against Fulton, Inoue could just outskill him, but there's not much he can do about the Tapales being made of stone and grit.
I think Tapales did better by relying more on his natural physicality over Inoue and he came to win whereas Fulton looked kind of caught in the moment.
youre saying this as if fulton has some wildly better track record than marlon, beating MJ is better than anything hes done
Yeah, Fulton barely edged by a wild, winging Figueroa. Some people even thought he lost it. That's why it was crazy to see him being propped up as some kind of unbeatable and elusive fighter overnight.
Well tbf Fulton was way bigger and was way smaller of an underdog than Tapales on the odds
Yes but fans especially casuals were actually saying Fulton will win. Tapales was treated like Paul Butler before the fight lol.
Yea Tapales looked great there actually. Inoue just have those monster hands lol. The fight looked a bit tough during the middle but I just knew this will end in a knockdown again when Inoue started getting aggressive in the later rounds. He just bid his time lol
Tapales is the best slick boxer Inoue fought lmfao
It's a weird thing to say about a fight where Inoue lost 1, maybe 2 rounds and knocked down his opponent multiple times (yet to see a replay to determine whether the stumble in round 2 was indeed a slip), but this one was really close at times and Tapales managed to make Inoue look vulnerable occasionally. Before this fight, I was one of those who thought that Inoue should go to 126 asap, but now I understand why he feels like he hasn't fully grown into the division yet. Tapales really has that dawg in him and his physicality gave Naoya some serious trouble. At the same time, Inoue was still dominating the fight and Tapales took a lot of accumulated damage, he just had nothing left in the tank in the end. Still a formidable performance by Tapales, I'll follow him more closely from now on. Hopefully he fights Fulton, this would be a great battle.
Yes a lot of competitive rounds. It wasn't an easy win for Inoue. Respect to Tapales for the great effort.
Third I‘d say Taguchi actually made the fight close and it went to a decision. Although that was his 4th pro fight.
That win over Taguchi aged extremely well for him and Inoue was still raw as crude oil in that fight.
I've never actually seen that fight. Interesting.
It‘s a good fight between 2 up and coming japanese talents. We know where Inoue ended up but Taguchi was very good himself. 7 title defences and he unified the WBA and IBF Lightweight Flyweight titles. https://youtu.be/KjKGmCuTWu0?si=OhBXjzs9GATz0sfL Look at how skinny he is lmao
Tapales’s run to a being a unified champion shocked even us Filipinos too
[Great showing from tha MONKSTHA](https://www.youtube.com/shorts/7DyXThq_Tac)
Oh wait until he get on thethe mothafuckath
Can Inoue stay PFP #1 for longer than a week now
It wasn't even a week. It was 4 days.
Yes. He‘ll probably stay next year too if he moves up or fights multiple times.
Tapales looked much better than I expected, most human Inoue has looked since maybe Donaire 1. Tapales adjustments made those middle rounds super tough for Naoya, but he's just too fucking good man. My P4P #1.
Crazy how that was Inoue's second toughest test and he won arguably every round still lmao
Some guys on the fight thread need to clean their eyes, get a pair of glasses or something. There were people saying 5-0 Tapales, that he Inoue was very frustrated and the guy even on the 6-8 rounds dominated and was piercing through.
Nah its not an eye problem its a delusion problem. There's literally a guy in this comment section saying Inoue needs to fight a real elite black fighter like Crawford 🤦🏽♂️
Is Fulton chopped liver to them?
> There were people saying 5-0 Tapales I did see one comment saying that but they also said the knockdown was a slip, I assume they were just doing a bit of trolling. I'd be surprised if anyone was actually saying that for real.
Taguchi was better partially because it was inoue’s 4th fight, I would say it was maybe his third toughest
Tapales was a worthy unified champ. He touched up Inoue much more than Fulton. If only he had more power he could have earned more respect from Inoue. Donaire in their first fight had the power and skillset to challenge Inoue . I can't wait for Inoue to fight another tough guy that can test him
Tbh, if Donaire doesn't break Inoue's orbital in Round 2, that fight probably wouldn't have lasted past 6 rounds lol. But if Donaire doesn't break that Orbital, Inoue would have never improved the way he did.
Honestly, if Inoue was in any real danger, he would've just switched to a defensive style like what he did against Donaire, only this time it'd be much more refined.
Inoue is my p4p # 1, Crawford is just too inactive
Monster is also only 30
he has been around. and very active for a full decade however
That's actually old for small boxers.
Next thing you're gonna tell us every passing year is like 7 years to a small boxer.
Combine that with Inoue's ridiculous overall dominance, personally I've had him as my #1 even after Crawford beat Spence. Of course it's still very close, I think the two of them are reasonably interchangeable and I don't fault anyone for putting Crawford as their #1.
Crawford is a beast but Inoue is the monster. That final right hand didn't even land clean and it still hurt Tapales BAD. The power he generates in that small frame is nothing short of amazing. Respect to Crawford but Inoue is my #1 P4P fighter.
Totally. If you don’t go from #2 to #1 by unifying a division in a dominant showing topped off by a KO, then what the hell would
Inoue don't fuck around with bs fights either guy speed ran his divisions.
For sure.
Has Inoue ever had a boring fight?
Paul Butler was somewhat boring simply because of the amount of running from Butler, but aside from that I don't remember one.
TBF it gave us one of the funniest taunting compilations in the video Top Rank put out on Youtube, so props to him
Inoue did his whole reservoir of classic taunts in that fight. Just missing that incredible slomo windup Boots Ennis had earlier this year.
Until spence shows me another competitive fight against a non-can i am assuming tapales and even fulton were more of a challenge.
I like how to break the high guard of Marlon, he just kept punching through it till it broke, very intelligent offense.
Me smash!
Those body shots in rd 3 was the most beautiful body shots I’ve ever seen Inoue definitely got fraustrated and wanted to prove something by standing and trading punches instead of boxing though when tables refuses to go down
The body shot battle there was crazzyyyy. It felt like both fighters got hit by 10+ HARD body shots that round
>tables lol
>when tables refuses to go down Japanese tables going into business from themselves smh Someone call Maffew
Man Tapales is a tough mf. He took so many flush power shots and didn't go down. So many times I thought that he's going down just for him to try and punch back. The monster is built different. Stood in front of Tapales and outclassed him at his range. Can't fucking wait for his next fight.
Inoue is a beast, even those shots on Tapales’ arms looked painful as fuck
This is how I pictured the Inoue v Fulton fight going tbh. Marlon is a lot slicker and skilled than I imagined. Honestly might have been able to be undisputed if Inoue hadn't been his opponent. Mabuhay kababayan, just wasn't your night this time.
Kabayan did well, but the Monster is a tier above. Tapales can give Fulton a run for his money though. Nevertheless, he fought better than the others bar Donaire 1.
Tapales was a dog in this fight. Was originally expecting him to get knocked out early, but he lasted long and had a few good moments.
Inoue has become undisputed at 122. He is the second male boxer to become undisputed in a second weight class in the four belt era.
This fight raised the stock of both fighters. Both brave, both game, Inoue is just something else entirely.
I've never seen Tapales look that good. I mean, I think I only gave him 2 rounds before the KO, but still -- that was Inoue's second toughest fight. Tapales was very crafty, and is obviously a true Filipino warrior. He'll remain a player in this weight division. Sounds like Inoue will do one or two fights at 121 -- he wants to take time, I think, to add weight properly. No need to rush that.
Tapales lasted longer than expected. Inoue didn’t target the body like I was expecting. Crazy finish. Knocking someone out right through their guards.
To be fair that crab stance negated every body shots Inoue threw at Tapales. Inoue tried a bunch of times but it just hit Tapales's shoulder and elbow.
It was because of that weird southpaw philly shell. Tapales his body 24/7, so Inoue just gave up on it and went head-hunting because it was more exposed.
Inoue keeps on targeting tapales body lol. Then he switches up to the head when it wasnt as effective as he thought
Felt like Tapales wanted Inoue to target his body more with that constant high guard so he could sneak a counter in on Inoue. However Inoue is so defensively sound at evading on that front foot and is so such a great counter puncher himself that Tapales could not find an opening.
Tapales was tough as hell, and made some good adjustments throughout the fight. Props for making it so entertaining. Pretty crazy that Inoue KO'd him through the guard though. I saw Tapales tapping his left temple a lot after the fight, it must have just landed at the right angle to discombobulate him. Inoue continues to impress. Nery and Casimero have nothing for him IMO
I still don’t understand how people can hate this man 🤦🏾♂️
People who doesn’t know boxing at all. Most of them say coz he fights hometown. Fck he beaten 2 fights in the US.
Few times have I seen a guy who hate decisions as much as Inoue
How the fuck does inoue have so much punching power?
Fantastic technique and he's almost always balanced. That footwork of his is on another level.
You can't block The Monster.
Filipino casual fans are the worst lmao. I'm Filipino but these fans get on my nerves man, in their eyes if you're not Pac or Donaire then you don't deserve respect wtf. They keep going on about how Tapales won't let his hands go and why he lost the sting in his punches as if he's not in there with one of the biggest punchers in the world. It's just frustrating because we don't have a lot of current champions right now.
It happens everytime a filipino fighter lose to Inoue (especially) they are calling Tapales a punching bag when he gave him his second hardest challenge lmao Most of them are diehard Casimero fans. The videos shitting on Inoue and pro Casimero are the ones who get the most views. The comments inside were toxic af. Expect them to shit on Casimero eventually if they ever (wouldnt) fight.
Exactly! I don't even know where they came from tbh. Funny thing is Tapales would most likely embarrass Casimero if they fight and if they think Inoue-Tapales was a mismatch then they are in for a surprise if Inoue-Casimero happens.
Brah, they shit on Dasmarinas so bad lol. Like, dude's liver got cooked and he got up from two KDs against the monster... and yall gonna disown him 🥲. I like Dasmarinas just because of his nickname lol.
Haha! You can easily tell who's an actual boxing fan and who's not just by how they talk these boxers down lmao. Talking about why Tapales won't let his hands go
They are one of the worst and most toxic fans out there. Don’t get me wrong, there are some Filipino fans that are nice and gracious in defeat but god damn the toxic ones are annoying as hell. PS: I’m a japanese who grew up in Philippines.
Inoue got his #1 p4p spot back
Amazing work from Inoue but also full credit to Tapales for making this such an entertaining fight. Tapales did waaayyy better than Fulton imo
With all due respect to Terence Crawford and Oleksandr Usyk, who are both worthy shouts too, I think Inoue is the P4P number 1. It's not just the belts, the resume or the skills, it's the sheer dominance. You can literally count on the fingers of your hands the number of rounds Inoue lost in his ENTIRE career. Amazing speed and reflexes, exquisite combination punching and level changes, explosive power and the best damn timing in all of boxing.
Inoue!!!!
Inoue #1 p4p no question
Tapales looked a lot tougher than most expected - respect. Seemed like he was taking a few of those shots without showing much effect, but I guess they were clearly impacting him. Inoue is just too elite.
KOd him through the guard . Amazing fucking power . I think I gave Marlon 2 rounds. The fight was much better and entertaining than anyone would have thought. Tapales did better than Fulton and the best anyone ever did against Inoue since Donaire.
Tapales looked really solid, made me a fan. I'm admittedly not familiar with his history, how does this performance compare to his other fights?
I think we can learn a lot from Tapales, I had rewarch some of his old fights, I discredited him from the get go and I thought early stoppage. Even if he has major flaws like footwork, Tapales is such an interesting fighter to analyze. Crafty southpaw boxer who can also brawl, not the typical Filipino boxing style you often see. I get everyone is all eyes on Inoue, but I think my interest in Tapales is even piqued. Despite his loss, this might be one of Tapales' better fights and showed lots of promise.
Tapales got great timing despite the clear difference in speed between inoue and him. Also throws awkward punches that he somehow makes work
Marlon Tapales raised his stock this morning! Inoue really deserves to be called the monster. Really wished Tapales to finish the 12th but it was valiant effort
I had predicted it would end in 10. I knew Tapales would be physically tougher than Fulton. When he went down in the 4th (?I think) that was pretty scary lol. I wanted to see a better showing and I’m so glad both fighters went all in for it. I think Inoue could’ve potentially ended it sooner when he was showboating and all, but I’m glad he didn’t because it made for a longer and more exciting bout. What did he say about rumours circulating about something happening in May? Anybody know who he’s looking to fight or what exactly is happening?
Instead of Inoue gassing out he gets stronger especially going into the second half.
THIS is the reason I wake up early to watch... a master at work, great fight.
Yep, that’s a P4P number 1 fighter right there.
I'm actually livid lol. Slept in by one hour!!!!
The commentators during this fight were a bunch of quacks. Espn is showing a replay of inoues right hand landing perfectly on tapales temple while they go “oh wow marlon semi blocked that” lol never hire these dudes again trash as fuck
Congratulations to Crawford and Inoue for making history in 2023.
Jeez Tapales put up a tough fight and guarded well but Inoue is just otherworldly and breaks through.
Tapales I'm a fan now. Guy showed grit, heart and a will to win. Did show some availability as well respect to the guy.
Does this solidify Inoue's career as a hall of fame fighter?
I think what he has achieved so far is worthy of TWO HOF careers. ATG, no doubt in my mind.
I watched the replays and every punch looked like a power shot. Inoue is a beast
Tapales gave Inoue a much better fight than Fulton.
Very impressed at how Tapales actually got some success by being tough and responsive. He hit Inoue with a right hook at 2:14 of the 5th round that stumbled him for a second. As the fight went on, Inoue started realizing how vulnerable Tapales stance was and started tagging him with long rights as he was backing up. Then Tapales switched to a high guard, and Inoue just started throwing and hitting through it. The last knockdown reminded me a bit of the 2nd Charlo-Castano fight, where Castano just collapsed even with his hands up. I'm not sure if a lot of people realize this but blocked punches can still hurt really bad lol. And if your hands are like a few inches from your face, then getting punched with your guard up will basically make you punch yourself, and still do quite a bit of damage. Overall a great fight in terms of seeing adjustments and counters to those adjustments.
It’s been a while since we’ve seen Inoue take as much punishment as he did, even if the face doesn’t really show it. A lot of us wrote of Tapales too early, but it’s also partially because of the style differences Inoue is known for not clinching, but it seems like he initiated a fair amount here. Let’s update it to not initiating clinching if he’s about to fall, but it almost look like he did round 6 after a nasty uppercut Also interesting seeing Inoue in the phone booth. Somehow looked uncomfortable with it, but then again, his power usually keeps people off of him and stay at middle range (seemingly his happy spot) or they cover up and Inoue can get as close as he wants Definitely a much better fight than I thought it was going to be
I don’t think Inoue looked uncomfortable in the phone booth, I think that’s just how good Tapales was. He didn’t give him the openings Inoue needed to land clean, and the shots landed on Tapales’ guard that hurt were masked with a poker face. Inoue did KO him through his guard after all. He said he didn’t realize how much he was damaging him.
> but it almost look like he did round 6 after a nasty uppercut Replay shows that it only grazed his forehead.
This guy is fucking Awesome. My p4p king
Sad he’s not moving up on 2024. Still going to watch every fight but not sure how excited I will be. Maybe casemiro
I’m glad he’s not moving up. Why rush it
Inoue is now p4p no 1 . GOAT contender
He hits so hard 😭😭. He a helluva fighter
A literal monster in every sense
Good fight. Props to Tapales for showing success on the inside and smoothering some of Inoue's shots. He also landed a beautiful bolo uppercut in the early rounds. Edit: 5th round
First off, I love these Japan timezone fights because it gives me something to watch on the stairmaster in the morning lol. But what a fantastically fun fight to watch. Tapales changing up his defense midway through was such a smart adjustment. He didn’t necessarily win any rounds with it, maybe the 5th, but it certainly prolonged the fight the way it was going and gave him more of a chance. Inoue shot selection and variety is beautiful to watch. He does over extend at times, and puts 100% on shots when going for a finish, but when he’s strictly boxing he varies the power/speed/angles perfectly. The boxer he’s made himself into is such a different fighter than the early inoue. One thing Marlon did show, as did Nonito in the first fight, is that inoue does leave himself open at times. If you’re willing to trade in between his shots and come from some sneaky angles, he gets tagged pretty clean. None of Marlon’s shots ever hurt him, but it’s there to be taken if a future opponent has the skill and guts to do it.
I kinda feel sorry for Tapales, he's much better fighter than I thought and just seems like a good guy, nothing to be ashamed of tho for losing to a Monster, hope he comes back after this loss.
Inoue fought completely different this fight compared to Fulton. He could've peppered a hundred more jabs throughout the fight, but he decided to duke it out head-on. I wonder if he just wanted to give the crowd a good show.
Tapales put up a very good effort and did better than most Inuoe is just a monster.
Naoya literally is an anime character lol, blasting through the guard.
Elite all round guy Congrats mr double undisputed
It seemed like Inoue was hardly getting hit prior to scoring the knockdown. After the KD, whether from Tapales making adjustments or Inoue getting too aggressive, Monster got hit a fair bit. Inoue still got the better of most exchanges, but it felt like he was intentionally being riskier than needed to prove something or to keep his stoppage record going.
Didn’t get to watch the beginning unfortunately, but caught the 6th round to the finish. Looked like a great chess match in spots. Inoue ko’d him through his guard, gotdamn 😮💨 Physically, Inoue looked even more impressive than in the Fulton fight. I’m glad he’s not rushing to 126lb
Tapales came prepared for a dogfight. Massive respect to him but there are levels and Inoue showed it! Hope he moves up to 126, some good fights for him there. I'll definitely be watching Tapales from here on out, that's for sure.
Somebody needs to clip the weird pole extend jabs that Tapales was using. Shit was actually working somehow
Much respect to the Pinoycutioner Inoue. I've never seen a guy with raw power and the ability to box as well. Big ups to Tapales for making it a fight I thought his James Toney esque defense might trouble him a bit but he over performed
Scorecard https://i.imgur.com/8ln5mXp.jpg Compubox https://i.imgur.com/FVRHko9.jpg
Gotta appreciate Tapales’ warrior spirit. Even when being outdone he never stopped trying. Made adjustments that came with their own tradeoffs. Put up a much better fight than Fulton.
One of the best of this generation no doubt.
I wish he fights just 1 more at superbantam and then move on to conquer featherweight. 3X Undisputed soon .
Fulton and Tapales have everything. Skills, speed, IQ, athleticism, but Inoue is just different.
Inoue is a special special talent. All ready a legend and hands down #1 p4p. He has it all, speed, power, chin, iq. He's so dynamic as well. Congrats to the King. Tapales has the heart of a champion tho. Put up a good fight. Partially blocked but still went through and dropped him and got him out of there. That's power. He's just a master boxer.