Marlon Tapales is making the ultimate sacrifice of spending the holidays thousands of miles away from loved ones so he could fulfill his dream of winning a world title again.
Instead of booking a flight back to the Philippines to celebrate his latest victory, Tapales went back to his place in Los Angeles and trained his sights on a guaranteed world title crack in early 2022.
The day after demolishing Japanese Hiroaki Teshigawara in their world title eliminator in Carson, California, Tapales spoke to Daily Tribune and laid out what’s down the road for him.
“I will be staying here in Los Angeles so I can continue training,” Tapales said in Filipino, and whose second-round knockout earned him a mandatory shot at Murodjon Akhmadaliev’s International Boxing Federation (IBF) super-bantamweight plum.
Tapales, who briefly held the World Boxing Organization (WBO) bantamweight title, has been told to remain in active mode.
Sean Gibbons, who heads the well-connected MP Promotions, believes that the all-important stab at the IBF 122-lb throne could come as early as February or March.
Even prior to facing Teshigawara, Tapales had been eyeing a showdown with the touted Akhmadaliev, a lefty like Tapales, and the Rio Olympics bronze medalist, 2015 world championships silver medalist and 2017 Asian championships gold medal winner.
“I have been taking a close look at Akhmadaliev and been watching his fights. I think his style suits me and with a longer preparation, my team can study him even more,” Tapales, who improved to 35-3 with 18 knockouts, added.
Hailing from Tubod, Lanao del Norte, Tapales reigned as WBO 118-lb titlist from July 2016 until April 2017.
Now handled by JC Mananquil of Sanman Promotions and represented globally by Gibbons, Tapales’ training team is made up of former pro fighter Ernel Fontanilla and Ting Ariosa, who used to coach the Philippine national team in the 1980s.
