Marlon Tapales will have more victories in the ring but nothing will probably be as dramatic as the one he pulled off in July 2016.
Tapales was knocked down twice in the fifth round by Panya Uthok (Sor Singyu) of Thailand, but the 24-year-old native of Tubod, Lanao del Norte, subsequently got his second wind to rally for an 11th-round knockout victory and capture the world bantamweight title.
?Tapales took a page off the ?Rocky? storyline,? boxing analyst Ed Tolentino said. ?Many thought he was finished . . . The victory was fueled by sheet guts, his refusal to give up on his dream to become a world champ.?
A championship belt may be wrapped around Tapales? waist but he?s far from a perfect fighter, Tolentino said.
?Tapales brawled against Sor Singyu and his gamble paid off, but he can’t stick to this style of fighting. Tapales has some defensive lapses that need to addressed. He was quite wild against Sor Singyu and a good counterpuncher will readily exploit his leaky defense,? Tolentino said.
?Also, conditioning must be improved. He almost succumbed to Sor Singyu’s body shots and I’m sure his next challenger will test his breadbasket once more, knowing that it appears to be one of his weak spots.?
Tapales, who has a 29-2 win-loss record with 12 wins coming by knockout, hasn?t been active since that July fight, but he has to use the lengthy break to his advantage, Tolentino said.
?He is planning to fight in March, but the foe has yet to be named,? Tolentino said.
?Tapales will have to shake off a lot of holiday ring rust but he has enough time because the fight is still being worked out.?
