ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico — Filipino boxing champion Pedro Taduran successfully retained his International Boxing Federation (IBF) world minimumweight title after securing a hard-fought unanimous decision victory over Spain’s Brandon Moreno on Sunday, November 8, at the Kiva Auditorium.
Displaying relentless aggression from the opening bell, the 30-year-old Taduran dictated the pace of the bout by cutting off the ring and punishing the taller challenger with crisp body shots and heavy lefts to the head.
Despite suffering a bloody cut above his left eyebrow in the middle rounds—seemingly from an accidental headbutt—the pride of Libon, Albay, adjusted his strategy and made Moreno pay whenever the Spaniard attempted to engage.
Taduran’s relentless body attack eventually wore down Moreno, leaving the challenger running on fumes as the Filipino pressed the action through the championship rounds.
All three judges scored in favor of the champion, with two cards reading 115-113 and a third giving Taduran a clean sweep by winning all 12 rounds.
With the victory, Taduran successfully defended his world crown for the fourth consecutive time and improved his professional record to 21 wins, 4 losses, and 1 draw. Meanwhile, the defeat handed Moreno the first loss of his career, dropping his record to 16-1.