MANILA ? Marlon Tapales should strongly consider moving up in weight after losing the world bantamweight title on the scales, a boxing analyst has suggested.
Ed Tolentino said that apparently Tapales? body could no longer handle getting down to 118 pounds, hence, the boxer was stripped of his title ahead his scheduled title defense against Japan’s Shohei Omori on Sunday.
?The way I see it, he tried to stay at 118 pounds when his body is yearning for more meat. He has to move up in weight,? Tolentino told ABS-CBN News on Saturday.
Tolentino said Tapales faced the same predicament when he was challenging Thailand?s Panya Uthok (Phuengluang Sor Singyu) in July 2016. Although Tapales made the weight limit, the weight cut proved to be a factor in his knockdowns midway the bout.
Fortunately, he rallied in the latter rounds to stop the Thai and win the crown.
?He was almost knocked out by Sor Singyu’s body blows,? said Tolentino.
According to a report by PhilBoxing.com’s Dong Secuya, Tapales tipped the scales at 119.75 pounds for the 1st weigh-in for the Omori fight. Tapales then returned heavier for the 2nd weigh-in at 119.93 pounds.
Tapales will still fight Omori, but the world title will be vacated if the Filipino wins. Omori will win the title outright if he emerges victorious.
Tolentino said Tapales’ handlers should have foreseen the boxer’s weight issue considering that the Filipino has been inactive since his title win in July.
“This is unfortunate. I am surprised his camp did not monitor his weight during camp,” he said.
“The inactivity was a factor plus the accompanying complacency that he can crash-course his way into making the weight.”
Tolentino said it would be better for Tapales to leave the bantamweight class and campaign in the 122-pound, junior featherweight division.
Tapales already fought Omori in December 2015. In that fight, he stopped the Japanese in just 2 rounds.
