Former world champions Marlon Tapales of the Philippines and Ryosuke Iwasa of Japan will lock horns on the undercard of the December 7 Jermall Charlo vs. Dennis Hogan WBC middleweight championship. The fight will be live on Showtime and streamed on the App.
Tapales (33-2, 16 KOs) is a 27-year-old southpaw from the Philippines who has gained his inspiration from fellow countryman and ring legend Manny “Pac-Man” Pacquiao.
The Filipino slugger became WBO bantamweight champion in 2016 when he knocked out Thailand’s Pungluang Sor Singyu in the 11th round.
It was a big upset because he knocked out the Thai champion in Thailand and it is always impressive when you can travel to your opponents hometown and dethrone them.
Tapales eventually moved up in weight to 122 lbs and is now setting his sites on a world title in the division. He hasn’t lost a fight since 2013 and is riding a wave of success heading into tonight’s bout.
Iwasa (26-3, 16 KOs) is 29 years of age, and like his Filipino opponent he also fights out of the southpaw stance making this an intriguing clash between two lefties.
The former champion from Japan held the IBF super bantamweight title but would lose it to Irish fighter T.J. Doheny.
Tonight he wants to make a statement against Tapales to show he is still a top contender in the division.
The SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING: Jermall Charlo vs. Dennis Hogan airs on Saturday, December 7, 2019 at 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. and features Chris Eubank Jr. vs. Matt Korobov in the co-main event, with Marlon Tapales vs. Ryosuke Iwasa as the opening fight.
Watch tonight’s fights live on SHOWTIME and live stream on the SHOWTIME APP available to download online so you can watch it on various internet capable devices.
