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Pedro Taduran barely retained the International Boxing Federation (IBF) minimumweight crown when he first defended it against Daniel Valladares in Mexico over a year ago.
Pitted against countryman Rene Mark Cuarto in General Santos City on Saturday, February 27, Taduran wants a decisive outcome this time.
The favored Taduran said he will be going for the knockout against Cuarto in the 12-round headliner of “The Puncher” fight card being staged by MP (Manny Pacquiao) Promotions at the Bula Gymnasium.
Taduran, however, refused to predict when Cuarto’s end will come.
“I would try to stop him given the chance,” said Taduran, who holds a 14-win, 2-loss, 1-draw record.
It won’t be easy though as Cuarto (18-2-2, 11 knockouts) doesn’t intend to mix it up against Taduran. Instead, he wants to catch Taduran off-guard by finding angles and firing combinations as Pacquiao does.
It’s hardly surprising as Cuarto’s chief trainer is Nonoy Neri, one of Pacquiao’s training assistants and manager of MP Boxing Gym in Davao.
“We’re going to give the champion a hard fight,” said Neri.
Both Taduran and Cuarto breezed through the scales on Friday, with Taduran checking in lighter at 104 pounds. Cuarto was on the dot at 105.
According to Taduran, he’s in top shape but whatever form he will show Saturday afternoon will also depend on his body recovery.
Noting that all he’ll be doing is eat and sleep the day before the bout, Taduran said he expects to rehydrate to 114 pounds when he enters the ring.
Pacquiao, who is on light training for his next fight in GenSan, is expected to watch the Taduran-Cuarto encounter, which comes a week after Vic Saludar bested Robert Paradero by split decision to capture the World Boxing Association version of the 105-pound title in Calamba, Laguna. – Rappler.com
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