Naoya Inoue vs Marlon Tapales date, time, how to watch, undercard

Naoya Inoue and Marlon Tapales square off in the main event at Ariake Arena in Tokyo on Tuesday, December 26. The contest features a pair of two-belt junior featherweight champions, battling it out for the undisputed title. The world championship bout is scheduled for 12 rounds.

30-year-old former undisputed bantamweight champion Naoya Inoue (25-0, 22 KOS) of Zama, Japan brings to the ring his unified WBC and WBO junior featherweight belts. 31-year-old southpaw Marlon Tapales (37-3, 19 KOs) of Tubod, Philippines holds the division’s unified IBF and WBA straps. The winner of the fight is set to become the first in history 122-pound undisputed champion and walk away with all four major straps.

The co-main event pits Seiya Tsutsumi (9-0-2, 8 KOs) of Kumamoto against Kazuki Anaguchi (6-0, 2 KOs) of Kishiwada. The bout is scheduled for 10 rounds with the Japanese bantamweight title on the line.

Also on the card a pair of Japan vs Mexico bouts featuring Andy Hiraoka (22-0, 17 KOs) up against Sebastian Diaz Maldonado (18-6-1, 13 KOs) at super lightweight and Yoshiki Takei (7-0, 7 KOs) versus Mario Diaz Maldonado (21-6, 9 KOs) at super bantamweight. Both matchups are scheduled for eight rounds.

Naoya Inoue vs Marlon Tapales start time in USA

Boxing fans in the United States can watch Naoya Inoue vs Marlon Tapales live stream on ESPN+. The date is Tuesday, December 26. The start time is scheduled for 3 am ET / 12 am PT.

The main event fighters are expected to make their ring walks at approximately 5 am ET / 2 am PT.

Naoya Inoue vs Marlon Tapales start time in UK

Boxing fans in the United Kingdom can watch Naoya Inoue vs Marlon Tapales live stream on Sky Sports. The date is Tuesday, December 26. The start time is scheduled for 10 am GMT.

Naoya Inoue vs Marlon Tapales start time in Australia

Boxing fans in Australia can watch Naoya Inoue vs Marlon Tapales live stream on Kayo. The date is Tuesday, December 26. The start time is scheduled for 7 pm AEDT.

The main event fighters are expected to make their ring walks at approximately 9 pm AEDT.

How to watch Inoue vs Tapales in other countries

Boxing fans in other countries can connect via VPN, such as ExpressVPN, and live stream Inoue vs Tapales from practically anywhere.

The respective date and start time vary by location.

Inoue vs Tapales undercard

Among the bouts featured on Inoue vs Tapales undercard, Kanamu Sakama (8-0, 7 KOs) of Tokyo, Japan faces off John Paul Gabunilas (10-2, 7 KOs) of Cebu, Philippines. The bout is scheduled for eight rounds at flyweight.

As well, Suguru Ishikawa (3-5-1, 2 KOs) of Niigata takes on his Japanese-fellow Fuga Uematsu (1-0, 1 KOs) of Fuji. The contest is scheduled for four rounds at featherweight.

In addition, Rikiya Sato of Hachioji makes his pro boxing debut against Keisuke Endo (0-2) of Tamura-gun. The all-Japanese match is scheduled for four rounds at super featherweight.

Inoue vs Tapales full fight card

The current Inoue vs Tapales fight card looks as the following:

Main card

Naoya Inoue vs. Marlon Tapales, 12 rounds, super bantamweight – Inoue’s WBC and WBO titles, Tapales’ WBA and IBF titles
Seiya Tsutsumi vs. Kazuki Anaguchi, 10 rounds, bantamweight
Andy Hiraoka vs. Sebastian Diaz Maldonado, 8 rounds, super lightweight
Yoshiki Takei vs. Mario Diaz Maldonado, 8 rounds, super bantamweight

Prelims

Kanamu Sakama vs. John Paul Gabunilas, 8 rounds, flyweight
Suguru Ishikawa vs. Fuga Uematsu, 4 rounds, featherweight
Rikiya Sato vs. Keisuke Endo, 4 rounds, super featherweight

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