Naoya Inoue eyes second bantamweight title against Marlon Tapales on Boxing Day

Japanese sensation Naoya Inoue, famously known as "The Monster", is aiming to claim the status of best pound-for-pound fighter on the planet against Marlon Tapales at the Ariake Arena in Tokyo on Tuesday night.

According to The Inquirer, Inoue is bidding to become a two-division undisputed champion as the World Boxing Council (WBC) and World Boxing Organisation (WBO) super bantamweight titleholder battles Filipino Tapales, famously known as "The Nightmare", on Boxing Day, which is today.

Tapales is the International Boxing Federation (IBF) and World Boxing Association (WBA) champion.

Inoue became the No 1-ranked pound-for-pound boxer by The Ring in late 2022, currently ranked No 2 behind Terence Crawford.

However, he has not fought a non-title fight since April 2013.

Tapales defeated Murodjon Akhmadaliev in April, a controversial match with a scorecard of 118-110. Since then, he has shown calm confidence, believing he has the skills to make Inoue dream of a fight.

"Don’t sleep on me," he told the Inquirer in April, playing off his moniker.

The two champion fighters had no problem on the scales on Monday, both making the 122-pound limit for the 12-round championship bout.

Tapales weighed in at 121.2 while Inoue came in at 121.6.

According to the Inquirer, if Tapales wins, he will be the first undisputed Filipino champion, a feat that eluded even the great Manny Pacquiao. If Inoue proves experts and oddsmakers right, he will clean up a second weight class in a year.