Daily Tribune
EMILEE CHINN/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE Marlon Tapales (right) mixes it up with Japanese Ryosuke Iwasa in their December 2019 clash at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. Tapales is back in the United States to begin training for a possible world title shot.
Former world champion Marlon Tapales got back in training mode less than 24 hours after his arrival in the United States.
Tamales, who now fights out of JC Mananquil's Sanman Promotions and Sean Gibbons' MP Promotions, showed up for training at Freddie Roachs Wild Card Boxing Club in Hollywood.
He was with another Filipino fighter, fellow world-rated super-fly Jade Bornea.
Tapales and Bornea are both trained by the tandem of Ernel Fontanilla and Ting Ariosa.
After briefly reigning as WorldBoxing Organization bantamweight champion several years ago, the southpaw Tapales wandered around and it wasn't until Gibbons directly handle this career that he began to make inroads main.
He is the mandatory challenger to Uzbekistan's Murodjon Akhmadaliev, the current World Boxing Association and International Boxing Federation 122-lb titlist.
Although there is no definite date as to when he and Akhmadaliev will face off, Tapales is not leaving any stone unturned in his buildup for that olive title shot.
Before leaving the Philippines, Tapales spent quality time at Mananquil's sweat shop in General Santos City.
"I am dedicated and motivated in training because I want to get another opportunity to fight for the (world) title," Tapales told Daily Tribune yesterday from Los Angeles.
