The co-main event of “TREASURE BOXING PROMOTION 12,” held on the 3rd at Tokyo’s Korakuen Hall, featured a clash of former world super-bantamweight champions in a 123.5-pound catchweight 10-rounder. Former IBF champion Yukinori Oguni (Kadoebi Jewel) secured a 3-0 unanimous decision victory (96-94, 97-93, 98-92) over Marlon Tapales (Philippines)—the former WBA & IBF champion currently ranked WBC No. 2, WBO No. 3, and IBF No. 4. With this upset, Oguni has propelled himself back into the world title picture.
While Tapales steadily closed the distance with inside jabs, Oguni countered with his own jab, straight punches, and precise footwork. In the second round, Oguni extended his lead hand to create space and landed a clean right straight. He also utilized “reverse one-twos” effectively, though he was occasionally pushed back by Tapales’ powerful left-to-right hook combinations.
In the third, Tapales intensified his offense, trapping Oguni against the ropes with a barrage of left straights and right hooks. Oguni showed resolve by countering with right body uppers to keep Tapales at bay, though Tapales’ own left body uppers interspersed within his combinations remained a persistent threat.
Tapales showcased not only power but tactical nuance, varying his rhythm to lure Oguni in. While his left body counters were troublesome, Oguni neutralized Tapales’ momentum in the fourth with left body hooks. In the fifth, Oguni unleashed a series of right straights to the head and body, causing a cut above Tapales’ right eye.
The fight reached its climax in the seventh round. Facing a charging Tapales, Oguni courageously fired repeated left body hooks, stalling the former champion’s movement before following up with a right body upper. With Tapales visibly damaged, Oguni pressed the advantage with his trademark right straights. As Tapales’ bleeding worsened and his focus wavered, an early stoppage seemed imminent; however, the referee paused the action for a doctor’s check, momentarily breaking Oguni’s momentum.
Nevertheless, Oguni continued the assault in the eighth, hurting Tapales with a right straight to the body. As Tapales became one-dimensional in his search for a left counter, Oguni picked him apart with disciplined one-twos.
With his body weakened and offense diminished, Tapales was controlled by Oguni’s jabs, right straights, and lateral movement through the final rounds. Oguni saw out the fight to the sound of the closing bell and thunderous cheers.
“I wanted to win, even if it wasn’t an exciting fight. I made a conscious effort not to overextend and to fight at my distance,” Oguni said smoothly after the bout. “The plan was to hold off on the body shots until after the fourth round. Tapales has power, so even when I wanted to press, I held back. Today, I was strictly focused on winning.” He then shouted to the crowd, “The next one might be a world title fight, so please keep supporting me!”
Oguni (37) improves to 24-4-3 (9 KOs), while Tapales (34) falls to 41-5 (22 KOs).
