PEDRO Taduran is a world boxing champion again.
The Filipino southpaw stopped Japanese Ginjiro Shigeoka in the ninth round on Sunday to capture the IBF minimumweight title before a stunned crowd at the Shiga Daihatsu Arena in Otsu City.
Ninth-round TKO
The 27-year-old Taduran swarmed all over a hapless Shigeoka in the remaining seconds of the ninth round when referee Steve Willis stepped in and decided the dethroned champion has had enough.
The end came with just 10 seconds remaining in the round.
Taduran improved to 17-4-1 (13 KOs) as he regained the IBF 105 lbs. crown he held from 2019-2021.
He is the second reigning Filipino world champion after Melvin Jerusalem, holder of the WBO mini-flyweight crown.
Shigeoka, his one eye almost shutout due to the severe punishiment inflicted by Taduran, suffered his first career loss after winning his first 11 fights - nine of which by knockouts.
The Japanese trailed in all the judges' scorecards when the fight was stopped - 78-74 by both Adam Height and Matteo Montella, and 77-75 from Jerome Lades.
Shigeoka was making the second defense of his title when he suffered the knockout loss. He first won the title following a fifth-round TKO of Mexican Daniel Valladares in October last year.
His elder brother Yudai Shigeoka also lost his WBC 105lbs belt to Filipino Melvin Jerusalem during their title fight last March in which Jerusalem decked the Japanese twice on the way to scoring a unanimous decision.
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