Naoya Inoue vs Marlon Tapales: Boxing is the plain sporting alternative on Boxing Day

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What’s the focus of your Boxing Day? For some, will probably be devouring the leftover turkey, roast potatoes and Brussels sprouts. For others, will probably be a reluctant journey to the in-laws’ home for Christmas lite. For a lot of readers on this web page, will probably be discovering a comfortable spot on the couch and settling in for a slew of Premier League video games. Beautiful. The truth is, the above aren’t mutually unique, however higher but? It’s also possible to squeeze in the true spotlight of Boxing Day 2023 – one you would possibly properly have neglected.

So, get the drive to the in-laws’ carried out good and early, maintain off on the leftovers till the afternoon (refill on chocolate within the meantime, by all means), and sit up for the soccer, positive. However in the event you can convey your self to overlook simply the early kick-off between an injury-ravaged Newcastle and flailing Nottingham Forest, then let your TV transport you to Tokyo. For there, the perfect boxer on the earth returns to the ring.

On Boxing Day, boxing is the suitable sporting alternative, as Naoya Inoue makes his bid to create much more historical past. At 12.30pm GMT, the primary whistle will sound on a day of Premier League motion on Amazon Prime, however at 12.15pm GMT, the primary bell will sound on the Inoue’s title battle with Marlon Tapales on Sky Sports activities.

I’ve written earlier than in regards to the Japanese famous person’s beguiling talent, startling pace and scary ferocity – which has made him Indy Sport’s pound-for-pound No 1 boxer, forward of even Terence Crawford – and the way the 30-year-old’s preventing model is juxtaposed with the appeal of his bouts going down at 12pm on a Tuesday for UK followers. Conveniently, Boxing Day falls on a Tuesday this yr, and whereas there might be next-to-no celebrations in Japan, celebrations on these shores could be enhanced by factoring in Inoue vs Tapales.

Inoue is the unified super-bantameight champion, having demolished the genuinely gifted Stephen Fulton in disproportionate trend in July to take the American’s WBC and WBO belts. Beforehand, Inoue reigned as undisputed bantamweight champion. Earlier than that, he was a world champion at super-flyweight. Earlier than that, the “Monster” was a world champion at light-flyweight. His skilled report stands at 25-0 with 22 knockout wins. Every time he steps within the ring with a top-level fighter, the expectation remains to be that he’ll knock them out.

The expectation would be the similar on Tuesday, as strong a boxer as Tapales is. The Filipino (37-3, 19 KOs) holds the IBF and WBA super-bantamweight titles, that means a victory over the 31-year-old would make Inoue the division’s undisputed champion. It will additionally make him simply the second man ever to grow to be a two-weight undisputed champion within the four-belt period, following Crawford’s history-making win over Errol Spence Jr in July.

Such is Inoue’s prodigious capacity that some followers are calling for a super-fight between the Japanese and Gervonta “Tank” Davis, considered one of a number of American stars in and across the light-weight division. Even Inoue, nevertheless, believes that scaling one other three weight lessons could also be an excessively formidable transfer. “I don’t assume it’s doable [to fight Davis],” he informed Fight Hype this week. “It’s extra [just] hype that followers are placing collectively. I consider him very extremely; if he’s on the decrease a part of the pound-for-pound record, I feel he must be up just a little bit additional up than the place he’s now.”

There is a fascinating dialog available about Davis, Devin Haney, Teofimo Lopez and Ryan Garcia, and the varied match-ups that would contain them (Davis vs Garcia is the one mixture to have come to fruition up to now, with “Tank” successful emphatically in April).

In reality, it’s foolish to pull Inoue into that dialog. His achievements stand on their very own, and whereas his opponents have a tendency to not have the profile of that gaggle of People, they’re expert operators in opposition to whom victories are vital.

Inoue will search one other vital victory on Tuesday, on Boxing Day. Why not issue the battle into your festivities?