AFTER a five-month lull, two-division world champion Marlon Tapales will step inside the ring this weekend for his featherweight debut.
Tapales is scheduled for a six-round bout against experienced Thai boxer Nirun Baonok on Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026, at the UH-FCC in Pattaya, Thailand.
Tapales was supposed to see action last month in Australia, but his fight did not push through.
He last saw action in April, losing to former world champion Yukinori Oguni by unanimous decision in Japan.
The 34-year-old Tapales fought for his first world title in 2016. He defeated World Boxing Organization (WBO) bantamweight champion Panya Uthok via 11th-round knockout in Thailand.
Tapales then became a unified world champion in 2023 after beating Murodjon Akhmadaliev by split decision in the US to unify the International Boxing Federation (IBF) and World Boxing Association (WBA) super-bantamweight titles.
Tapales tried to unify all four belts against Japanese superstar Naoya Inoue later that year, but was unfortunately knocked out by Inoue in the 10th round in Japan.
Tapales is now ranked No. 12 in the featherweight division.
Baonok, on the other hand, has a total of 48 bouts under his belt. He has fought former world title challengers Danai Ngiabphukhiaw, Thananchai Charunphak, Koki Eto, Teiru Kinoshita, Aran Dipaen, and Teeraphong Utaida.
The 35-year-old Baonok is coming off a unanimous decision defeat to Shakiel Iqbal last February in Thailand.
Tapales has an impressive win-loss slate of 41-5 with 22 knockouts, while Baonok is 15-33 with 11 knockouts.
Also fighting in the same event is former amateur standout Criztian Pitt Laurente.
Laurente (16-0, 10 KOs) will go up against 18-year-old Thai fighter Benchalong Tanbu (6-2-1, 3 KOs) in a six-rounder. / EKA
