Filipino world champion has been working heavily on power and speed in the gym as chief trainer Carl Peñalosa Jr. insists that there is only one way to return home with the International Boxing Federation (IBF) minimumweight title in their possession.

“Knockout,” Peñalosa said during Tuesday’s Philippine Sportswriters Association Forum at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex.

Taduran is defending his IBF 105-pound crown for the first time on 24 May, a rematch with Ginjiro Shigeoka in Osaka.

“I am ready to defend the title,” Taduran said, noting that he didn’t leave any stone unturned in his quest to beat Shigeoka for the second straight time.

Taduran stopped Shigeoka in nine rounds in July last year in Otsu City to bag the championship.

Peñalosa, who has presided over Taduran’s training, swears there is no other option but to batter Shigeoka from pillar to post.

“Right from the start, we should be pressing the action and attacking him,” Peñalosa, brother of former two-division titleholders Dodie Boy and Gerry, said in the weekly Q&A as manager Cucuy Elorde watched from the sidelines.

“We can’t afford to take it nice and easy because if the fight goes the distance, I don’t think we’ll get a favorable decision.”

To ensure that Taduran goes in attack-mode as soon as the bell rings, Peñalosa made his fighter work doubly hard in training.

“We never stopped training. There was no pause and this is the reason why stamina will play a big part. We’ll win because of our stamina.”

Taduran holds a 17-4-1 win-loss-draw record with 13 knockouts while Shigeoka parades a 13-1-1 ledger with nine knockouts, promising fight fans a fistic treat in this all-southpaw showdown.

But Peñalosa is of the belief that his fighter has the edge, saying nothing beats hard work.

“Training makes a champion and a champion never stops training,” he said.

Taduran and his team, which also includes Marty Elorde, leave for Osaka on 18 May.