Pedro Taduran retained the IBF minimumweight title with a unanimous 12-round decision over previously unbeaten Brandon Moreno at the Kiva Auditorium in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on Saturday night — Sunday morning in Manila. The Taduran Moreno result was the fourth defense of the belt he took from Ginjiro Shigeoka two years ago, in his second reign as champion.
Moreno, 33, proved tougher than expected. Taduran, 30, walked forward from the opening bell and found the mark repeatedly with his left straight. Moreno, ranked No. 4 by the IBF, would not engage, opening in short, cautious spurts and then retreating.
“I had a hard time and he is tough,” Taduran said. “He kept running but I hurt him too.”
Taduran Moreno result and the scorecards
Anthony Romero of Las Cruces scored a shutout, 120-108. Esther Lopez of Albuquerque and Mark Sanchez of Midland, Texas, both had it 115-113, giving seven rounds to Taduran. Taduran took three of the last four rounds on all three cards.
Referee Allen Dominguez of New Mexico kept the bout under control from the start. Taduran scaled 104.8 pounds at the weigh-in the day before and 113.6 at the second weigh-in on the morning of the fight. Under IBF rules, fighters must weigh in again on fight morning with an allowance of 10 pounds over the division limit.
How the champion set the rhythm
Matchmaker Sean Gibbons said he expected Moreno to box from distance. “The guy has a different style,” he said. “He did his best to beat Pedro but couldn’t do it. Pedro’s just too good.”
Manager Marty Elorde said experience was a telling factor, and noted that a height advantage for the challenger did not matter. Former IBF superflyweight champion Jerwin Ancajas and coach Joven Jimenez were in Taduran’s corner. Coach Erbing Penalosa did not make the trip because he could not get his US visa in time.
Analysis: where the rounds were won
This section is analysis based on the reported scorecards. The pattern was pressure against hesitation. Moreno’s low output left two judges with little to reward, while Taduran’s late surge took three of the final four frames on every card. The left straight did the accounting; the scorecards simply recorded it.
What comes next for Taduran
Gibbons previously tried to match Taduran against WBO/WBA ruler Oscar Collazo, but the Puerto Rican declined. “Collazo is running from Pedro,” Gibbons said. “What a wimp. He had opportunities to fight Pedro for a lot of money.”
According to the report, Collazo relinquished his belts and moved up two divisions to flyweight at 112, avoiding Taduran even at 108. With Collazo out of the picture, Taduran may attempt to unify against WBC titlist Siyakholwa Kuse of South Africa. Taduran said he will take on anyone Gibbons puts in front of him.
The original report appears at philstar.com.