Inoue admits feeling 'scared' as Tapales showdown nears

MANILA, Philippines – As it turns out, even monsters also feel afraid.

Japanese sensation Naoya Inoue, who is days away from his super bantamweight unification bout with Filipino champion Marlon Tapales, said one thing scares him the most as he tries to unify the WBC and WBO titles with Tapales’ IBF and WBA belts — complacency.

The undefeated Inoue (25-0, with 22 knockouts) is an overwhelming favorite to defeat Tapales at the Ariake Arena in Koto-Ku, Japan on the evening of December 22. But the last thing he wants to do is to succumb to pre-fight chatter and believe that the bout will be a walk in the park for him.

I can watch footage of Naoya Inoue hitting the heavy bag all day. Nobody creates the power and leverage that he does. And he takes shadowboxing seriously as any boxer today.. #boxinghttps://t.co/eatihJBJpq

“What scares me the most is people around me think it will be an easy fight,” the soft-spoken pound-for-pound star said during a media workout the other day in Japan.

Inoue and his camp just recognizes the danger Tapales brings to that table that they admitted bringing in sparring partners from abroad who have differing styles so they would be ready for anything come fight night.

“For this fight I am dealing with a different training regiment, making adjustments, and building up an image in my mind of myself as a boxer who is dexterous and can do anything,” he added.

Inoue understands that the heavy underdog Tapales (37-3, with 19 KOs) has nothing to lose and can pull off an upset if it presents itself.

“I improved a lot, and worked on counters against Tapales. We had very good training sessions and we have made it to this point,” he continued.

“However, I am still afraid of having the feeling that Tapales will take a shot at me. So I will be very careful about that. I'll be very cautious.”

There is simply no way that the heavy-handed Inoue, aptly nicknamed “The Monster”, is taking Tapales lightly.

For Tapales, in his own right, has earned his own moniker — Nightmare.