‘DRAINED’ TAPALES NOW JUST 3 LB ABOVE FIGHT WEIGHT LIMIT
His training over, all that Marlon Tapales can do now is rest his weary, hungry body.
Bereft of solid food and liquid since Thursday night, Tapales still spent nearly an hour sweating it out at Green Chuta Gym on Friday afternoon. To cap his weight-reduction scheme, the WBO bantamweight champion stayed inside a makeshift sauna for five minutes.
The visibly drained Tapales is set to make his title defense against Japanese Shohei Omori at Edion Arena on Sunday.
Tapales checked his weight after arriving at his hotel with his team. The scales posted 121 pounds (lb), just three above the division’s limit.
“When I wake up tomorrow (Saturday), I may be 120 and it would be easy to make it (weight),” Tapales told Manilabased sportswriters.
According to Tapales, he’s in better condition now than when he fought and beat Thai Pungluang Sor Singyu for the 118pound crown last year in Thailand.
That time, Tapales bared, he was five pounds overweight a day before the bout, which ended in an 11 round knockout.
The official weigh-in for Tapales-Omori is set at 1 p.m. (noon in Manila) to be followed by a press conference at Hotel Montrey Garsmere.
Earlier, Tapales (29-2 with 12 knockouts) and Omori (18-1, 13 knockouts) met during their physical examination, which they both passed. The Japanese media were present and took pictures of the “old” protagonists together.
In their first clash in Kyoto in 2015, Tapales stopped the then unbeaten Omori in just two rounds. Since then, however, the Japanese has knocked out his last three opponents, with twotime Filipino world title contender Rocky Fuentes the most recent victim.
Reports emanating from Kyoto, where Omori held training camp, is that the 5foot-8 slugger is in superb condition.
When I wake up tomorrow (Saturday), I may be 120 and it would be easy to make it (weight) MARLON TAPALES WBObantamweight champion