THE country opened the year with two world boxing champions: WBC minimumweight champion Melvin “Gringo” Jerusalem and IBF minimumweight titlist Pedro Taduran.
Taduran, the pride of Libon, Albay, recently kicked off the Philippine fistic campaign with a triumphant debut on United States soil.
Taduran hammered out a splendid seventh round knockout victory over Mexican Gustavo Perez Alvarez at the Pechanga Resort in Temecula, California.
Perez actually got off to a good start, using his longer reach to keep the on-rushing Taduran at a safe distance.
Perez was quite slippery and Taduran, while continuing to apply pressure, struggled to find his mark.
Then again, as a popular boxing adage goes, “you can run, but you can’t hide.”
Taduran employed head movement to get under the pesky jabs of Perez and wisely zeroed in on the Mexican’s body in the fourth stanza to slow him down.
A howitzer straight left to the ribcage sent Perez crumbling to the canvas. The Mexican beat the count, but Taduran went after him with the tenacity of a shark going after a weary prey. Taduran whipped up another body shot to produce the second knockdown of the fight.
Perez survived the assault, but his fate was sealed.
Perez’s jabs became scarce in the fifth round, but he still landed some neat counter shots at Taduran. The Filipino champion had found his punching groove though and there was no stopping him.
At the end of the sixth round, Taduran unleashed a solid hook that floored Perez again.
In the seventh round, Taduran pulled down the curtain on Perez using another debilitating body shot. Perez again locked lips with the canvas and while he was able to pick himself up, the referee wisely pulled the plug and declared Taduran the winner.
The victory was Taduran’s third defense of the IBF minimumweight (105 pounds) championship.
Taduran is actually on his second reign as IBF kingpin. He first won the IBF diadem in September 2019, when he stopped countryman Samuel Salva in four rounds in Taguig.
Taduran was dethroned by Filipino Rene Mark Cuarto in February 2021 via unanimous decision. In a rematch in February 2022, Cuarto defeated Taduran via a controversial majority decision.
Taduran regrouped with wins over Powell Balaba and Jake Amparo. In July 2024, the power-punching Taduran regained the IBF minimumweight crown with a brutal ninth round knockout of Japanese Ginjiro Shigeoka.
Taduran, 29, has shown marked improvement in his second reign as IBF champion.
The gung-ho style, which made Taduran susceptible to counter shots, has been replaced by a more cautious, judicious approach. The southpaw Taduran now invests on solid right jabs instead of just recklessly barging in.
Make no mistake, Taduran’s killer instinct remains intact. As he showed in the Perez fight, once he smells blood Taduran will readily go for the jugular.
Taduran improved his record to 20-4 with 14 knockouts. More importantly, Taduran was finally able to showcase his fistic talent in the United States.
The reigning titleholders in the 105-pound division are WBC champ Jerusalem and WBO-WBA champ Oscar Collazo of Puerto Rico.
The undefeated (14-0), unified champ Collazo is widely regarded as the best in the division, but many believe that Taduran can give the Puerto Rican a serious run for his money.
Collazo is looking to unify all four belts (WBC, WBA, WBO and IBF) in the minimumweight division. This means Collazo has to get past Jerusalem and Taduran.
Jerusalem was supposed to face Collazo in a rematch last March 14, but promotional issues resulted in the fight being scrapped. Collazo instead faced Jesus Haro on said date and won in six rounds.
Collazo stopped Jerusalem in seven rounds in May 2023 in a battle for the WBO minimumweight crown.
Jerusalem has successfully bounced back from the defeat, winning his next four fights. In March 2024, Jerusalem defeated Yudai Shigeoka on points to win the WBC title.
As things stand, Jerusalem is booked to defend the WBC hardware on May 16 in South Africa against Siyakholwa Kuse. Kuse was the same African Jerusalem defeated last October 29 at the Araneta Coliseum.
With Jerusalem preoccupied, Taduran is calling out Collazo for a unification showdown.
Sean Gibbons, the president of Manny Pacquiao Promotions, is eyeing a July or August battle between Collazo and Taduran.
Collazo will be the favorite, but he has not really faced anyone in the caliber of Taduran.
IBF champ Taduran offers suffocating pressure, a more improved defense, and a whole lot of punching power.