Marlon Tapales exposed Inoue's weaknesses despite defeat, says analyst

Former two-division champion Marlon Tapales did not pull off an upset against Naoya Inoue, but he managed to expose some of the Japanese star's weaknesses, according to veteran boxing analyst Atty. Ed Tolentino.

Tapales, who came in as a huge underdog against the No. 2 pound-for-pound boxer, traded leather with Inoue for ten rounds and had moments of his own during the undisputed showdown.

For Tolentino, Tapales proved that Inoue is in fact beatable.

“Marlon Tapales' feet were wide apart and Inoue felt inconvenienced. Tapales forced him to turn so Inoue was unable to plant his feet to gain full power. He had difficulty in the early rounds. Inoue, even though he got frustrated, he still kept punching,” Tolentino said on Sparring Sessions.

“It was a good strategy if only [Tapales] picked up on the offense a little. There were openings and situations where Inoue was disorganized. If other boxers were watching, they already saw weak spots in Inoue. They could be taking down notes from what Tapales has shown.”

And while Tapales failed to win in hostile territory, Tolentino reminded that there is no shame in losing to a fighter of Inoue's caliber.

“Definitely there was a fight plan. Tapales did his homework. It just so happens that Inoue is arguably the pound-for-pound king of boxing. Tapales in a way exposed Inoue,” Tolentino stressed.

—JMB, GMA Integrated News