Tapales misses weight for title defense, loses WBO belt on scale

Ryan Songalia

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Tapales misses weight for title defense, loses WBO belt on scale

Alecs Ongcal

Marlon Tapales weighs in at 119.75, and weighs the same on the second attempt before his rematch against Shohei Omori

MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) – Filipino boxer Marlon Tapales was stripped of his WBO bantamweight title after missing weight on Saturday, April 22 for his first defense against Shohei Omori.

Tapales (29-2-1, 12 knockouts) weighed in at 119.75, which is 1.75 pounds over the 118-pound limit. Tapales had two hours to make weight on the second attempt, but after spending time in the sauna, he weighed in at the same weight, co-manager Ryan Salud tells Rappler.

“He is severely dehydrated,” Salud says.

The fight on Sunday at EDION Arena in Osaka, Japan will proceed with the title on the line only for Omori (18-1, 13 KOs), who weighed in at 117.5 pounds. Should Tapales win, the title will become vacant.

In their first meeting in December of 2015, Tapales dropped Omori 4 times in two rounds before the fight was stopped. The win earned Tapales a mandatory shot at Thai champion Pungluang Sor Singyu. Tapales got off the canvas twice to score a comeback knockout win in the eleventh round to win the title. 

Making weight is often a fight in itself for the 25-year-old Tapales of Kapatagan, Lanao del Norte, Philippines, as he walks around at 145 pounds and had trained for 3 months prior to this fight. (READ: Overlooked champ Marlon Tapales continues to fight for respect)

According to reporter Dong Secuya, Tapales was a no-show for a press conference scheduled just prior to the weigh-in as he remained in his room attempting to make weight.

“He is really down right now. But we are encouraging him to focus on the match,” said Salud, who is accompanied in Japan by his father and co-manager Rex “Wakee” Salud, plus Tapales’ trainers. “One thing is for sure is that he will be going up.”

In England, both Filipino boxer Arthur Villanueva and South Africa’s Zolani Tete made weight for their WBO bantamweight title eliminator. Villanueva (30-1, 16 KOs) weighed in at 117.9 pounds while the former IBF junior bantamweight champion Tete (24-3, 20 KOs) weighed 117.2 pounds for their fight at Leicester Arena later today.

The winner of that fight will become the mandatory challenger for the WBO belt which is now in limbo. – Rappler.com

 

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