World Boxing Council and World Boxing Organization super bantamweight champion Naoya ‘’the Monster’’ Inoue of Ohashi Boxing Gym held a public workout at the gym in Yokohama on Dec. 15 before his title unification fight with World Boxing Association and International Boxing Federation super bantamweight champion Marlon Tapales of the Philippines on Dec. 26 in Tokyo.

  The 30-year-old Inoue wound up his sparring sessions for the upcoming fight on Dec. 14 and had only two rounds of shadowboxing and a round of punching bag hitting in the day’s training. Inoue did a total of 116 rounds of sparring for the fight, the most in his recent fights. His trainer and father Shingo Inoue said, ‘’He had only about 70 to 80 rounds of sparring for a fight as far as the past two to three fights were concerned.

  Inoue said, ‘’It is because I wanted to get rid of the widely spread mood of an easy victory. I am afraid of that kind of atmosphere. I am extremely highly motivated and have never ever been my efforts proving futile.’’

  In this connection, the gym’s head Hideyuki Ohashi echoed Inoue by saying, ‘’He (Tapales) is more dangerous than (Stephen) Fulton (of the United States from whom Inoue won the titles last July by technical knockout).’’

  ‘’I’m afraid he has an intention to attain a huge upset victory. That’s why I have to brace my nerves,’’ Inoue added.

  Another reason Inoue increased sparring sessions was the fact that he has had four excellent Mexican sparring partners for the fight — Erik Robles, Jose Angel Garcia, Jose Salas Reyes and Cristian Cruz, according to experts.

  Ohashi said, ‘’They were all different types of boxers. They were not only tough but also were technically sound. In addition, they also were full of spirit.’’

  Concerning the upcoming fight, Inoue said, ‘’Though I got inside while keeping my left hand low in my fight with Fulton, I don’t think I will not do that kind of boxing this time around. I think I would be a little uptight from the first round. I hope you will notice that feeling of tension.’’

  The scheduled 12-rounder will be held at Tokyo’s Ariake Arena.

Inoue has a record of 25 straight wins, including 22 knockouts, while the left-handed Tapales, 31, has a 37-3 win-loss record with 19 KOs.