Fightnews.com

By Joe Koizumi
Photo by Boxing Beat

No kidding? But that’s true. Just two days after the press conference of his world title crack, unbeaten ex-OPBF champ, 20-year-old bright prospect Takuma Inoue, Japan, on Friday had the right hand fractured during a sparring session that pitifully caused an abrupt cancellation of his ambitious shot at the WBO bantamweight belt against Filipino southpaw Marlon Tapales in Tokyo on December 30. Takuma, the younger brother of the WBO 115-pound titlist Naoya, was highly expected to wrest the belt to be brother world champs. Ohashi Promotions is now trying to materialize the WBO title go with another Japanese challenger against Tapales by urgently contacting the WBO headquarters and Fuji Television as well.