MARLON “NIGHTMARE” TAPALES is bracing for his biggest fight so far against unified world super bantamweight titleholder Murodjon Akhmadaliev of Uzbekistan sometime in April in a still undetermined venue in the United States.
Tapales, 29, a former World Boxing Organization (WBO) bantamweight titlist, thanked the International Boxing Federation (IBF) for elevating him as the mandatory challenger only last January 4 against the undefeated southpaw champion.
“I’m dreaming of this fight for a long, long time. I want to face the best of the best or the best ever,” Tapales told BusinessMirror on Monday, stressing the fight won’t be easy because Akhmadaliev is a “strong and durable foe.”
“Based on what I saw on videos, Akhmadaliev is an in-and-out fighter and he has great stamina,” said Tapales, who is trained by Ting Ariosa and Ernel Fontanilla. “He knows how to adjust very well.”
Tapales is coming off a second round stoppage of Japanese Hiroaki Teshigawara last December 13 in an IBF world title eliminator at the Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson City. He improved to 35-3 won-lost with 18 knockouts.
The 27-year-old Akhmadaliev, who holds the IBF and World Boxing Association super bantamweight belts, is unbeaten in 10 fights with seven knockouts.
Akhmadaliev won the titles over American Daniel Roman in January 2020 in Miami, Florida, and defended his belt against Japanese Ryosuke Iwasa via technical knockout in March 3 Tashkent and Jose Velasquez of Chile via unanimous decision in November 19 in Manchester, New Hampshire, in 2021.
The Top Rank promotion fight between featherweight Jeo Santisima and Joet Gonzalez on February 5, meanwhile, was rescheduled to March 4 at the Save Mart Arena in Fresno, California.