JAPANESE INVASION: Action-packed southpaw showdown looms

Amid the scorching Thursday afternoon heat, a dozen or so boxers did their thing at the Elorde Sports Center, a landmark establishment along Sucat Road in Parañaque.

One guy was pummeling the heavy bag as if the inanimate object had owed him money while another was shadowboxing as though he had just caught someone who had just ran away with his wife.

The rest also looked dead-serious in their work with collective grunts simultaneously bouncing off the walls alongside the sound of gloves slamming against the leather mitts.

But it was a pint-sized puncher weighing just over 100 lbs with almond-shaped eyes who stood out.

Standing only over five feet, Pedro Taduran was busy throwing blows at the black-colored heavy bag with impunity.

There were no people around him as Taduran was doing his thing just seven weeks away from an all-important world title shot in Japan.

“Training is terrific. We are right on track,” Taduran told DAILY TRIBUNE as he braces for a shot at Ginjiro Shigeoka’s International Boxing Federation minimumweight title in Otsu City.

In between training sessions, Taduran sees to it that he watches his Japanese foe on YouTube on a regular basis so he can study his every move, something the Filipino challenger would badly need in his bold bid to knock the International Boxing Federation 105-lb crown off Shigeoka’s head.

“He’s very good and is strong, too,” Taduran admitted after his two-hour workout supervised by chief trainer Carl Peñalosa Jr.

But the unbeaten Shigeoka, who has an 11-0 card with nine knockouts and also a lefty like Taduran, is not Superman.

And even if he is, Taduran, who parades a 16-4-1 mark with 12 knockouts, swears he could be Shigeoka’s kryptonite.

“A knockout win? Yes, that’s possible. I can do it,” said the Bicol-born challenger.

But to pull it off, Taduran has to fight the perfect fight given Shigeoka’s obvious advantages: KO percentage and home crowd support.

“This is the reason why I am pushing myself in training because I know it is going to be a very tough fight but still a winnable fight,” he said.

Meanwhile, Marty Elorde, who co-manages the fighter with sister Cucuy, looked stoic as Taduran did his thing.

But his eyes lit up when he was reminded of Taduran’s biggest assets: Work ethic and non-stop punching.

Even the tone of Elorde’s voice changed a bit when the guy next to him swore that Taduran is somebody who could rain on Shigeoka’s parade.

“This is going to be a great fight and everything could boil down to stamina and conditioning,” Taduran added.

Elorde smiled, knowing Taduran has them both.