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Filipino standout Marlon Tapales scored an impressive win this past Sunday, knocking out Shohei Omori in the eleventh round of a neck-and-neck fight that all three judges had 95-94, but now faces an uncertain future. Tapales (30-2, 13 KO) lost his WBO bantamweight title on the scale after weighing in at 120 pounds, leaving “The Maranding Nightmare” and his manager looking at the super bantamweight division.
As of this moment, 122 seems a bit less vicious than 118 since the likes of Leo Santa Cruz, Carl Frampton, and Scott Quigg moved up to featherweight. Kingpin Guillermo Rigondeaux fights only when the planets are aligned and the rest of the top 10 offers several interesting, not-overwhelming matchups for the young Tapales, including current WBO champ Jessie Magdaleno.
The card, which took place in Osaka, also saw Kazuto Ioka pick up his fifth flyweight title defense against Noknoi CP Freshmart. Plus, four Japanese fighters, including world-ranked Sho Ishida, beat up debuting Thais for some reason.