Top-ranked International Boxing Federation minimumweight challenger Pedro Taduran of the Philippines, unleashing a barrage of right and left combinations to the head and body, stopped Ginjiro Shigeoka of Watanabe Boxing Gym in the ninth round to wrest the title on July 28 in Shiga Prefecture, western Japan.

  The technical knockout of the scheduled 12-rounder at the Shiga Daihatsu Arena in the prefecture’s Otsu City came 2 minutes and 50 seconds into the round when the left-handed Tduran connected with unanswered blows to the head and body by putting Shigeoka, also a southpaw, against the ropes, which prompted the referee to step in to call off the fight.

  The 24-year-old Shigeoka’s damage was such he was carried out on a stretcher to a hospital, although there was no serious damage to his health. With the defeat, Shigeoka failed in his third defense of the title he won by knocking out Taduran’s compatriot Rene Mark Cuarto in April last year.

  This is the second time for the 27-year-old Taduran to capture the IBF minimumweight crown as he won the then vacant title in 2019 by stopping Samuel Salva of the Philippines. He lost the title in 2021 to fellow Filipino Rene Mark Cuarto in his second title defense.

  After the fight, Taduran said through an interpreter, ‘’I have trained very hard for this particular fight in the past three months. Though he (Shigeoka) was a good fighter, I came here to win the title.’’

‘’This was the fourth time for me to visit the Japan (twice for then World Boxing Organization minimumweight champion Ryuya Yamanaka and once for then for World Boxing Council and World Boxing Association light flyweight champion Kenshiro Teraji of B.M.B. Boxing Gym). I want to add more championship belts,’’ he added. It was Shigeoka’s first bout with a left-handed opponent in four years and seven months.

  While both southpaws got off to an active start, it was Taduran who threw more effective punches.

  Shigeoka suffered a nosebleed in the second round with his right eyelid beginning to be closed in the fifth stanza due to Taduran’s overhand lefts.

  Though Shigeoka occasionally connected with right hooks to the body, it was Taduran who came out even stronger by unleashing powerful punches to the head and body.

  Shigeoka’s damage was such, the referee appeared to have been seeking an opportunity to stop the fight.

  With the victory, Taduran improved his record to 17 wins, including 13 KOs, against four losses and a draw. For his part, it was Shigeoka’s first loss after winning his first 11 bouts, nine by KO.

  It was the first time that a world title fight had been held in the western Japanese prefecture. It was held under the banner of 3150FIGHT vol.9 promoted by Kameda Promotion Co.