Defense and conditioning keys to victory for Marlon Tapales, says Carl Jammes Martin

Super bantamweight prospect Carl Jammes Martin says two-division champion Marlon Tapales has a good shot of pulling off an upset when he takes on Naoya Inoue on December 26 at Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan.

Having trained side by side with the reigning WBA and IBF world super bantamweight champion for three weeks in Baguio City, Martin had a good look of Tapales' rigorous training ahead of the most important fight of the latter's career.

"I saw his stamina, it is all good. I really hope he wins, Filipinos are supporting him," Martin said in Filipino an exclusive interview.

"His use of the shoulder roll will be a huge advantage which he also used against Murodjon Akhmadaliev. I hope he gets to apply it in the upcoming fight. I see that it is going to be tough for Naoya."

Tapales, 37-3 with 19 knockouts, has spent a good part of his training camp in the US before taking his act in Baguio. According to Martin, his compatriot's conditioning will play a vital part in getting a win in hostile territory.

"From what I saw in training, he is very eager to win. His conditioning [will be key] because from there we will see how long he could last, his stamina, and patience," Martin stressed.

—JKC, GMA Integrated News