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| Pedro Taduran got back his IBF minimumweight title five years after he first won it. Ivan Saldajeno (file photo) |
QUEZON CITY--Pedro Taduran is now a two-time world champion after reclaiming the IBF minimumweight title with a stunning win against erstwhile holder Ginjiro Shigeoka on Sunday night at the Shiga Daihatsu Arena in Otsu, Japan.
In what would be the biggest win of his career so far, Taduran silenced the mainly pro-Shigeoka crowd as he knocked him out just before Round 9 ended.
Taduran, who first held the belt from 2019-2021, turned to an aggressive style of play to frustrate Shigeoka's game plan.
Taduran's strategy quickly bore fruit as Shigeoka's right eye began to swell by the end of Round 2, and two rounds later, the Japanese pug's corner had to control some blood flowing from his nose too.
Shigeoka continued to lose steam as the match went on, and late into Round 9, after Taduran began unleashing a flurry at the ropes, referee Steve Willis had seen enough and stopped the bout with only 10 seconds left in the period.
The native of Libon, Albay scored his 17th win as a pro, 13th by knockout, against four losses and one draw.
Shigeoka, on the other hand, suffered his first loss after an 11-0 start with nine knockouts.
In the co-main event, Pete Apolinar fell to Matcha Nakagawa in another Philippines versus Japan bout.
Nakagawa put on a near-flawless performance to dominate Apolinar en route to the unanimous decision win, even scoring a knockdown.
One judge gave Nakagawa a perfect 80 after the eight-round battle, while the two other jurors scored it 79-72 and 78-73, respectively, in his favor.
Nakagawa is now at 16-2-2, while Apolinar dropped to 17-5-1.
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