The revolving door continues in boxing’s tiniest weight division. Pedro Taduran became a two-time strawweight titlist after a ninth-round stoppage of unbeaten Ginjiro Shigeoka. A barrage of punches left Shigeoka defenseless, which forced referee Steve Willis to stop the fight at 2:50 of the ninth round. With the win, Taduran reclaimed the IBF strawweight title […]
The post Pedro Taduran Halts Ginjiro Shigeoka In 9th Round, Reclaims IBF Strawweight Title In Stunning Upset appeared first on The Ring.
The revolving door continues in boxing’s tiniest weight division.
Pedro Taduran became a two-time strawweight titlist after a ninth-round stoppage of unbeaten Ginjiro Shigeoka. A barrage of punches left Shigeoka defenseless, which forced referee Steve Willis to stop the fight at 2:50 of the ninth round.
With the win, Taduran reclaimed the IBF strawweight title Sunday at Shiga Daihatsu Arena in Otsu, Shiga, Japan.
Shigeoka (11-1, 9 knockouts) entered his second title defense as The Ring’s No. 1 rated strawweight. He’d hoped to turn away the former titleholder and keep at least one belt in the family. Yudai Shigeoka, Ginjiro’s older brother, lost his WBC title to Melvin Jerusalem earlier this year.
Instead, another strawweight belt made its way back to the Philippines. Taduran, No. 8 at 105, was dominant from the start, as he took away Shigeoka’s vaunted body attack and applied one of his own.
Concern grew for Shigeoka’s health as the fight advanced into the second half. His nose bloodied and right all but swollen shut, Shigeoka, 24, was no longer at a point where he could fend off the 27-year-old southpaw.
The fight could have been stopped at any point from the seventh round onward. Taduran closed the show in style as he had Shigeoka pinned along the ropes. A pair of left hooks landed to the body as a spent Shigeoka tried in vain to cover up. He was eventually rescued by the referee as Taduran launched into celebration.
Concern grew for Shigeoka after he collapsed in his corner. Immediate medical attention was paid as he was carried into an ambulance and taken to a nearby hospital for further evaluation.
Meanwhile, the night marked the rebirth of ‘Kid Pedro Heneral.’
Taduran (17-4-1, 13 KOs) delivered a career-best performance as he entered his second title reign. His first reign began with a fourth-round knockout of countryman Samuel Salva in their Sept. 2019 vacant title fight.
The lone successful defense wasn’t all that successful. Taduran settled for a technical draw with the headbutt-prone Daniel Valladares in Feb. 2020. He lost the belt one year later to Rene Mark Cuarto in their Feb. 2021 all-Filipino clash. Cuarto repeated the feat one year later, in a Feb. 2022 technical decision victory.
Three wins have now followed for Taduran, none bigger than what he accomplished on Sunday.
The bout aired live on ABEMA-TV in Japan.
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The post Pedro Taduran Halts Ginjiro Shigeoka In 9th Round, Reclaims IBF Strawweight Title In Stunning Upset appeared first on The Ring.
