Former two-division titleholder Marlon Tapales returns to action on September 7 when he faces one-time beaten Indian boxer Saurabh Kumar at the Olympic Stadium in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
Tapales (38-4, 20 KOs) will fight for the second time since losing to Naoya Inoue by tenth round knockout last December in a junior featherweight undisputed unification bout. The 32-year-old Tapales from Lanao del Norte province in the Philippines made a brief return to the ring in May, knocking out the overmatched Mattapong Jankaew in the first round in Manila.
Kumar (11-1, 6 KOs) takes a massive step into the ten round fight, having only fought once outside of his native India. In that fight, a year ago against Zhong Liu in China, Kumar was stopped in seven rounds for a WBO regional belt. Since then, the 28-year-old Kumar has been held to a split draw against a boxer with a 2-1 record and stopped Shivam Sharma, who entered with a 0-1 record, in the fourth round.
“I’m happy to fight in the great country of Cambodia and excited to give them a good show,” Tapales, who is promoted by Sanman Boxing and MP Promotions, said in a release.
“It will be a good experience and activity battle for him. The plan for him is to be active, maybe one more (fight) before the year ends. Hopefully by 2025 we will get another title shot and become a three-time world champion,” said Jim Claude Manangquil of Sanman Boxing.
The event will be promoted by KKIF and Wurkz Energy Drink.
