Marlon Tapales scores big win in San Antonio

Kapatagan, Lanao del Norte, Philippines former WBO bantamweight champion Marlon “The Nightmare” Tapales (37-3, 19 KO’s) shocked everyone, except his own team, by upsetting Uzbekistan’s Murodjon Akhmadaliev (11-1, 8 KO’s) to become a unified super bantamweight champion this past Saturday night in San Antonio, Texas.

Tapales claimed the WBA (Super) and IBF belts by SD 12 after two judges had him winning, 115-113, while the other scored a ridiculous 118-110, in favor of Akhmadaliev. The former champion was making the 4th defense of the titles he won back in 2020. 

Going into the fight, Akhmadaliev was seen as the heavy favorite who would more than likely be slotted in to face the winner of the Naoya “The Monster” Inoue and Stephen Fulton title bout scheduled for July 25 in Tokyo, Japan. Older and relatively unknown, Tapales certainly wasn’t the guy looked at as the favorite. However, with the win, it looks like he and promoter Sean Gibbons will be watching Fulton-Inoue with great interest.

The fight was a tale of two fights. Tapales dominated the first two-thirds with a strong jab and good power shots inside. Akmadaliev came on strong in the final third with a strong body attack and lots of pressure. However, it was a case of too little, too late on 2 of the 3 judges’ cards.

After the fight, the new champion was thrilled with the outcome and looked forward to what was next.

“I feel good. I feel happy for my team, for my manager and sir Sean (Gibbons)," Tapales said during the post-fight press conference. “Even after everything that happened, all the postponements, I still trained really hard, I stayed in the gym to have this moment", he said.

As to what is next.

“We’ll be ringside watching Fulton-Inoue with great interest”, said co-promoter Gibbons. “We are looking for the best fights and best fighters, we are looking to unify”, he said. “If Inoue wins we could have “The Monster” vs. “the Nightmare”.

As for the new champion.

“I just have to stay relaxed and enjoy the moment”, said Tapales. “I didn’t go home for a long time but it’s a worthy sacrifice”, he said.