Self-motivated Tapales excited to face Thailand Pinoy-executioner

BANGKOK, Thailand – Reigning WBO bantamweight champion Pungluang Sor Singyu of Thailand, who has a record of 52 wins and 3 losses, has fought a total of 20 Filipinos and defeated all of them. The most prominent of whom was his TKO victory over AJ Banal at the Mall of Asia Arena on Oct. 20, 2012 where Pungluang captured his first world title. In his last title defense on Feb. 16, this year, Pungluang defeated another Filipino, Jethro Pabustan. Most of Pungluang's Filipino victims though were no-name journeymen.

Informed that Pungluang has beaten all his 20 Filipino opponents, Marlon Tapales, who arrived here Sunday to challenge Sor Singyu's title on Wednesday, Taples exclaimed, “That's what I like! I want that!”

Tapales explained that he has always liked to face undefeated opponents or something in his opponent's record that needs to be broken. “It always motivates me to do some unique – something that's done for the first time,” Tapales said, adding, “the greater the challenge, the more motivated I am.”

This attitude may have something to do with what he had done for himself growing up. Tapales has conquered his vices and his worst self to become a positive force for his family and country.

Typical with many Filipino kids growing up, Marlon, the third son in a brood of six of Maria and Emilio Tapales of Lala, Lanao del Norte in Mindanao, became exposed and got hooked with drugs and smoking to the point that it almost wrecked him as a person. Fortunately for him, he had the desire and the will to change course for the better. To battle his addiction, Tapales, who was then only 16, went to a nearby boxing gym of Bobong Yap whose Scorpion boxing stable had a number of active and promising boxers.

“I was too small and frail then,” Tapales narrated. “I only weighed around 105 lbs. Bobong allowed me to stay in the gym and help in any way, like bringing the towel and water for the boxers and cleaning the gym. I did not box immediately. But all the time I just observed."

Title hopeful Marlon Tapales works out at the Lumpini Park at the heart of Bangkok Monday ahead of his WBO world bantamweight championship bout against defending champion Pungluang Sor Singyu of Thailand on Wednesday at the historic city of Ayutthaya.

“While I'm out of the gym I tended our farm animals and while doing that, I shadow box and imitate Bobong's boxers alone. I also put up a punching bag out of a sack in our house and converted a basketball into double-ended bag which I pounded everyday.”

Finally Tapales begun to box in the gym and sparred with the pros. After he sparred 6 rounds with Noel Adelmira and somehow held his own, Yap thought Tapales was now ready to turn pro. Tapales won his pro debut by TKO over Nestor Gamolo on July 18, 2008 at age 16.

“I realized I could earn good money out of boxing so I decided to quit school,” Tapales went on to win his next 7 fights but tasted his first defeat against Brix Ray in Surigao City on May 30, 2009 after a 16-hour land travel unsettled his stomach.

In his next fight, he defeated then Idol champion and undefeated Jerson Mancio and gradually take on more formidable opponents and winning them. With a record of 21-1, Tapales fought out of the country for the first time and went to Mexico on short notice to fight David Sanchez for the WBC silver super flyweight belt on March 23, 2013.

“The experience was terrible and I could not get any sleep.” Tapales, who arrived a few days before the fight and lost by majority decision," he said.

Tapales was back in the win column in his next fight by defeating Indonesia's Ruben Manakane in Japan on May 26, 2013 and went on to win his next 7 fights capped by a second round demolition of then undefeated Japanese Shohei Omori on Dec. 12, 2015 in Kyoto, Japan that landed him a date with Thai world champion Pungluang Sur Singyo this Wednesday.

After eight years, Tapales, now 24, is faced with the biggest challenge of his life – but the young boy from Lala who overcame drug addiction by his own sheer determination is now eager to also overcome this one.

With a great training camp and an extra motivation to be the first Filipino to defeat Pinoy-Executioner Pungluang Sor Singyu, the self-motivated Tapales might just pull this one off – and if he does, the whole country will be there to cheer for him.  (FREEMAN)