(ESPN Press) – Top Rank Boxing on ESPN: Inoue vs. Tapales will be presented live on Tuesday, December 26, at a special early morning start time, 3 a.m. ET/12 a.m. PT, exclusively in the U.S. on ESPN+. This event takes place at Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan.
In the main event, WBC/WBO world champion Naoya “Monster” Inoue and WBA/IBF king Marlon Tapales collide in a showdown for the undisputed junior featherweight championship. Inoue is attempting to become only the second man — following Terence Crawford — to become a two-weight undisputed champion in the four-belt era.
Inoue (25-0, 22 KOs) is a staggering 20-0 with 18 knockouts in world title fights, a run that began in 2014 with his knockout victory over Adrian Hernandez for the WBC light flyweight world title. He went on to win the WBO junior bantamweight world championship before capturing the undisputed bantamweight world title last December. Inoue made his junior featherweight debut in July, dominating two-belt champion Stephen Fulton en route to an eighth-round TKO.
Tapales (37-3, 19 KOs), a Filipino southpaw, is a 15-year pro who won the WBO bantamweight world title in 2016 before moving up four pounds to junior featherweight. He is 4-0 since a TKO loss to Ryosuke Iwasa in December 2019. Tapales returns following his biggest win to date, April’s upset split decision over Murodjon Akhmadaliev for the WBA and IBF world titles.
In other streaming action on ESPN+:
Seiya Tsutsumi (9-0-2, 7 KOs) vs. Kazuki Anaguchi (6-0, 2 KOs), 10 Rounds, Japanese Bantamweight Title
Andy Hiraoka (22-0, 17 KOs) vs. Sebastian Diaz Maldonado (18-6-1, 13 KOs), 8 Rounds, Junior Welterweight
Yoshiki Takei (8-0, 8 KOs) vs. Mario Diaz Maldonado (21-6, 9 KOs), 8 Rounds, Junior Featherweight
Fight Card
Junior Featherweight Championship – Naoya Inoue vs. Marlon Tapales (IBF, WBA, WBC, WBO Titles)
Bantamweight – Seiya Tsutsumi vs. Kazuki Anaguchi
Junior Welterweight – Andy Hiraoka vs. Sebastian Diaz Maldonado
Junior Featherweight – Yoshiki Takei vs. Mario Diaz Maldonado
Top Rank Presents Undisputed Junior Featherweight Championship: Naoya Inoue vs. Marlon Tapales on Tuesday, December 26, 2023 at 3:00 a.m. ET/ 12:00 a.m. PT Early Start Time, Live and Exclusively in the U.S. on ESPN+. To Subscribe Visit: ESPNPlus.com/Top Rank
