Taduran’s stoppage of Shigeoka nominated for Upset of the Year

MANILA, Philippines – Pedro Taduran’s sensational stoppage of hometown icon Ginjiro Shigeoka on July 28 in Otsu, Japan, has been nominated for The Ring Magazine’s Upset of the Year and Comeback of the Year.

Defying pre-fight odds, Taduran was raining punches on the hapless Shigeoka when the referee waved off the bout with 10 seconds left in the ninth round, returning the International Boxing Federation (IBF) minimumweight belt to the pride of Libon, Albay.

In 2019, Taduran snared the 105-pound crown with a fourth-round technical knockout over countryman Samuel Salva, then defended it once with a majority draw against Daniel Vlladares in Mexico in 2020.

But Taduran’s career took a downturn when he yielded the crown to Rene Mark Cuarto on February 27, 2021, and lost again in their rematch on February 6, 2022.

Now 28 years old, Taduran is back on top with a 17-4-1 record, including 13 knockouts, waiting for whoever will be his challenger this year.

This could be Shigeoka (11-1, 9 KOs) or compatriot Jeff Canoy (23-5-2, 14 KOs).  The IBF mandated them to clash in a world title eliminator.

Shigeoka, who dropped to sixth in the IBF rankings, replaced original candidate Chinese Zhu Dianxing (14-1, 12 KOs), ranked No. 3.

While waiting for the winner between Canoy and Shigeoka, Taduran will also be basking in glory as one of the Major Awardees in the Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) Awards Night on January 27. – Rappler.com