At A Glance
- Marlon Tapales and his team arrived in Tokyo, Japan on Sunday, March 29, for his upcoming fight against former Japanese world champion Yukinori Oguni at the Korakuen Hall.
Marlon Tapales and his team arrived in Tokyo, Japan on Sunday, March 29, for his upcoming fight against former Japanese world champion Yukinori Oguni at the Korakuen Hall.
The former unified world champion is scheduled to take on the 37-year-old Japanese in a non-title super bantamweight bout on Friday, April 3.
Tapales was joined by manager Jim Claude Manangquil of Sanman Boxing, trainer Jr Edurot, Ernel Fontanilla, Marvin Catipay, and John Pacquiao.
Manangquil said Tapales is already in his best shape with still five days left before the match.
“He’s in very good condition na. 100 percent na. Maganda iyong naging training camp,” said Manangquil just before the team flew to Tokyo.
The Sanman promotions chief added that the camp in Cebu went smoothly as planned and Tapales is already well within the limit before the weigh in on Thursday.
“Saktong sakto na for the weigh-in,” he added.
The 33-year-old pride of Lanao Del Norte is facing his most accomplished opponent in Oguni since taking on and losing to Japanese superstar Naoya Inoue in 2023.
He is currently on a four-fight win streak and he aims to protect his place in the world ranking where he is rated No. 2 in the WBC, and No. 3 in both WBO and IBF rankings.