World Boxing News thought the 2023 Fighter of the Year race was over. However, legacy-chasing champion Naoya Inoue had other ideas.
No sooner had Terence Crawford’s name been sent to production for the 2023 WBN Fighter of the Year trophy had Inoue forced a recall with his activity and ambition.
Japan’s Monster of a pound-for-pound star looks to extend his undisputed accolades to a second weight class five days before the end of 2023.
Naoya Inoue halts WBN Award production
The tight squeeze halted WBN Award production, which has become a straight two-horse race between Crawford and Inoue.
He will take the prize if the current WBC and WBO super bantamweight champion defeats WBA and IBF ruler Marlon Tapales on December 26 in Tokyo. If he doesn’t, Crawford walks away with the memento for 2023.
Inoue vs Tapales occurs at Ariake Arena in Tokyo and will stream live and exclusively in the U.S. on ESPN+ in a special early-morning presentation.
The pre-fight favorite, Inoue, is already a four-division world champion. He seeks to become the second fighter to earn four-belt undisputed status in a second division.
To his significant credit, Inoue had only one focus after beating Stephen Fulton for the first two titles in the division earlier this year. He instructed Top Rank chief Bob Arum to secure the Tapales fight for all four.
On securing the opportunity, Arum said: “The sensational Naoya Inoue astounds with every performance. We are witnessing an all-time great fighter in the prime of his career.
“He has a very difficult task at hand on December 26. He faces a tough, powerful Filipino champion in Marlon Tapales. But I am confident ‘The Monster’ will pass this test with flying colors.”
Inoue
Inoue holds a record of 25-0, 22 KOs. He is 20-0 with 18 knockouts in world title fights since defeating Adrian Hernandez in 2014 for the WBC light flyweight crown.
He then moved up two divisions, knocked out then-WBO junior bantamweight world champion Omar Narvaez, and defended the title on seven occasions.
At bantamweight, Inoue became the division’s first undisputed champion in the four-belt era. He collected each title as he defeated Emmanuel Rodriguez, Nonito Donaire twice, and Paul Butler over three years.
In addition, he defeated WBC and WBO super bantamweight world champion Stephen Fulton via eighth-round TKO in July. Inoue plans to become the first undisputed four-belt champion at 122 pounds.
Tapales
Tapales has a standout CV of 37-3, 19 KOs. He is a 40-fight veteran who debuted in July 2008.
He spent the earlier part of his career fighting in his native Philippines, suffering two early setbacks. Those came before a breakout performance against then-unbeaten Japanese contender Shohei Omori, whom he defeated via second-round TKO in December 2015.
Tapales then captured the WBO bantamweight world title with an 11th-round TKO against Panya Uthok. After beating Omori in their 2018 rematch, he moved up to 122.
He is 4-0 with 3 KOs since losing to Ryosuke Iwasa in December 2019.
Tapales returns following his most significant win, April’s upset split decision against Murodjon Akhmadaliev to capture the WBA and IBF titles.
