INTERNATIONAL Boxing Federation (IBF) minimumweight king Pedro Taduran defends his reign Saturday night, May 24, 2025, against Ginjiro Shigeoka in a rematch at Intex Osaka in Japan.
Taduran is defending his belt for the first time since wresting it from Shigeoka last year. The 28-year-old Taduran dethroned Shigeoka via ninth-round technical knockout in Japan. It was Shigeoka’s first career loss after 11 straight wins.
This is Taduran’s second reign as IBF minimumweight champion after winning the vacant title in 2019 with a fourth-round stoppage of fellow Pinoy Samuel Salva.
Following a technical draw with Daniel Valladares in his first title defense, Taduran lost his belt by unanimous decision to another Filipino, Rene Mark Cuarto, in 2021.
Taduran had a rematch with Cuarto but lost again via technical decision in 2022.
Taduran earned his title shot against Shigeoka after a winning an IBF minimumweight title eliminator versus Jake Amparo in Bohol in 2023.
The 25-year-old Shigeoka, meanwhile, quickly rose up the ranks after just starting his pro career in 2018. Following eight straight wins, he earned a shot against Valladares for the IBF belt in 2023. The fight, however, ended in a no contest.
Shigeoka fought for the interim IBF minimumweight belt against Cuarto that same year and won it by a ninth-round knockout.
He quickly earned his shot at Valladares again, this time stopping the then-champion in five rounds to become the IBF minimumweight titleholder. He had a successful title defense against Amparo last year before losing his belt to Taduran in his next title defense.
Taduran tipped the scales at 104.5 pounds, while Shigeoka made weight at exactly 105 pounds.
Taduran is 17-4-1 with 13 knockouts, while Shigeoka is 11-1 with nine knockouts. Taduran is one of only two current Filipino world champions, alongside World Boxing Council minimumweight king Melvin Jerusalem.
Meanwhile, undefeated regional champion Vencent Lacar (9-0, 4 KOs) is also seeing action in the same show against Ryo Mandokoro (5-0, 3 KOs). / EKA