Pedro Taduran is as ready as he could ever be when the Filipino pug defends his International Boxing Federation (IBF) miniflyweight crown against Ginjiro Shigeoka later this month, as assessed by his coach, Carl Peñalosa Jr.

“Pedro is Pedro. I just added some things to make him ready,” Peñalosa Jr. said during an open workout session at Elorde Sports Center in Parañaque Friday afternoon. “If he hits [his foe], (Pedro) won’t stop at anything until he gets the knockout.

“If we’re able to land a punch, that’s it. We’ll keep punching.”

Taduran is set to fight Shigeoka at Intex Osaka on May 24—10 months since their last encounter, where the Filipino southpaw took the 105-pound title by way of a ninth-round technical knockout.

More formidable

Peñalosa believes that the pride of Libon, Albay, has become more formidable as he now has better “hand speed and power,” but has since been making sure that there won’t be any chance for the former Japanese champion to reclaim the crown by intense sparring sessions.

“We’ve had more than 100 rounds (of sparring), going three times a week,” he shared.

Taduran (13-4-1), though, needs no better motivation than the one that he’ll be wearing around his waist on fight night.

“This (fight) is special to me because this is what boxers dream of—becoming a world champion,” he said. “I’m already one, and I want to keep the title with me.