Marlon Tapales (left) and Jose Estrella (right) strike a pose after passing the weigh-in for their bout tomorrow in Carson City, California. | Photo from Sanman Boxing Promotions
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Former world champion Marlon “Nightmare” Tapales and his opponent Jose Estrella of Mexico passed the official weigh-in of their non-title bout on Sunday, May 14, 2022 (May 15, Manila Time) at the Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson City, California.
During the official weigh-in on Friday, Tapales tipped the scales at 124 pounds while Estrella weighed in at 126 lbs to schedule their eight-rounder super bantamweight bout.
Their eight-rounder bout is featured in the undercard of the much-anticipated rematch between undisputed super welterweight world champion Jermell Charlo and Brian Carlos Castano.
Tapales is the mandatory challenger of IBF and WBA unified junior featherweight titleholder Murodjon Akhmadaliev of Uzbekistan. They were supposed to fight this year but the fight was later on shelved.
This was after Akhmadaliev was scheduled to defend both world titles against Ronny Rios on June 11, 2022.
Akhmadaliev’s world title defense was supposedly scheduled last year, but Rios contracted the Covid-19, forcing them to cancel the bout.
If Tapales beats Estrella tomorrow, he further strengthens his chances to land a world title bout against whoever wins the Akhmadaliev-Rios bout.
Tapales, who fights under Sanman Boxing, has a record of 35 wins, 18 knockouts, and 3 defeats. The former WBO world bantamweight champion earned the mandatory challenger status after he knocked out Japanese Hiroaki Teshigawara in the second round at the same venue in Dignity Health Sports Park last year.
Meanwhile, the 32-year-old Estrella of Tijuana, Mexico has a record of 23-18 (win-loss) with 16 knockouts and 1 draw. He is eyeing redemption after losing his most previous bout against Saul Sanchez via a third-round knockout last December 2021.
Before losing to Sanchez, Estrella was on a three-fight winning streak from 2020 to 2021.
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