Congratulations to our newest world boxing champion Marlon “The Nightmare” Tapales.
He defeated Murodjon Akhmadaliev via split decision last week at the Boeing Center in San Antonio, Texas and romped off with the WBA and IBF superbantamweight diadems.
With the victory Tapales moved to 37-3, 19 KOs while Akhmadaliev dropped to 11-1 with eight KOs.
Coming into the fight, Tapales was a 5-1 underdog against the previously undefeated 2016 Olympic bronze medalist.
THE FIGHT. There was a lot at stake coming into this fight as the winner was penciled to fight the winner of the Naoya Inoue v. Stephen Fulton bout for the WBC/WBO crowns scheduled on July 25.
There wasn’t too much action in the opening round but in the second, Tapales got the party started by landing two huge uppercuts that got his opponent’s attention.
Tapales continued to control the action by occasionally landing huge overhand lefts and uppercuts as Akhmadaliev appeared too tense and wary of Tapales’ sneaky left hand.
Akhmadeliev finally gained some momentum in the middle rounds as he managed to land some substantial leather. Tapales was right in there though, as he countered with some eye-catching shots of his own.
There were some good exchanges in the ninth and 10th rounds and these rounds were too close to score definitively for either fighter.
The defending champion managed to mount a late rally in the final round, but the bell would end with both fighters on their feet and the fight going to the scorecards.
One judge favored Akhmadaliev by a wide margin, 118-110 while the other two had Tapales edging it, 115-113.
Granted, some rounds were difficult to score, but I just don’t see how Akhmadaliev could have dominated the fight as suggested by the 118-110 tally.
Just goes to show that anything can happen in a fight and you never know how your body of work will be judged. Thankfully, two of the three judges got it right and scored it for the rightful winner.
Tapales is now in a unique situation with the potential of becoming the first-ever Filipino undisputed champion in a particular weight class if ever he defeats the winner of Naoya-Fulton.
LAST ROUND. It’s on a dear friend, Suzette Ablan, who recently celebrated her birthday. Cheers!