Marlon Tapales primed and ready for 'career changing opportunity' in title fight with Akhmadaliev

Former world champion Marlon Tapales is raring to strut his skills and become a world champion again when he takes on the WBA and IBF world super bantamweight champion Murodjon Akhmadaliev this weekend at Boeing Center at Tech Port in San Antonio, Texas.

Tapales, 36-3 with 19 knockouts as a professional boxer, has been waiting for his shot at the titles after the unification bout has been postponed a few times. Now just a few days left before the biggest fight of his career, the Filipino stressed he is ready to grab the opportunity by the horns.

“We worked hard for this fight, we are ready. We are prepared for his skills; he is a good boxer and very talented,” Tapales said during the pre-fight press conference.

“We had a very good camp and sparred a lot of boxers that are good too. I know I am prepared for this fight. This is a very big opportunity for me. It is a big change for my career.”

Akhmadaliev (11-0, 8KOs), meanwhile, knows all too well that the winner of the upcoming bout is likely to face the winner of the unification between WBO and WBC world super bantamweight champion Stephen Fulton and Naoya Inoue in July. However, he only has Tapales in his mind.

“Obviously [being] undisputed is a dream of mine that has always been there. But right now I am fully concentrated and focused on this fight. I want to show an exciting great fight against a great fighter,” Akhmadaliev stressed.

—JM Siasat/JMB, GMA Integrated News