MARLON Tapales lost his World Boxing Organization (WBO) bantamweight title after failing to make weight in yesterday?s weigh-in for his rematch with Shohei Omori at the EDION Arena in Osaka, Japan.
Tapales was stripped of his title after failing to make the 118-pound limit in his second attempt. He first tipped the scales at 119.76 pounds in his first attempt but after trying to shed the excess weight via sauna, he still weighed the same in his second try.
?That was his weight and it never went down,? Brix Flores, one of Tapales? cornermen, told SunStar Cebu. ?He tried sauna but there was no more water weight to shed off, he was already very dry.?
Flores believes that Tapales, who hasn?t fought since July last year, has already outgrown the bantamweight division.
?I think Marlon has to move up in weight after this fight,? he said. ?Marlon has been training really hard. I believe he is really too heavy for the division. I?m really impressed by his discipline and hard work in training. It?s a waste that he didn?t make the weight.?
Only Omori can now win the vacant belt if he beats Tapales, who, according to Rappler, reportedly walks around at 145 pounds when not in training. But if Tapales wins, then the title will remain vacant and up for grabs possibly between the winner of the WBO bantamweight title eliminator between Arthur Villanueva and Zolani Tete and the next available highest-rated fighter.
The 25-year-old Tapales fought Omori in a title eliminator in 2015. He dropped Omori three times in the first round and finally ended the young Japanese pug?s night in the second round.
Tapales is 29-2 with 12 knockouts, while the 24-year-old Omori is 18-1 with 13 knockouts.
Former WBO Oriental featherweight titleholder Neil John Tabanao (13-3, 9 KOs) takes on Japanese prospect Teiru Atsumi (12-1, 6 KOs) in a six-rounder in the undercard.
