Meat of the matter

OSAKA, Japan — In the early morning rush hours of Thursday — just as the working men and women of this vibrant city began their mad rush to their respective offices — Pedro Taduran got up from bed and put on his training gear.

But looking from his room on the 27th floor of Hotel Nikko, the reigning International Boxing Federation (IBF) minimumweight champion noticed something.

The glass window had water droplets and Taduran’s wish to work out a sweat didn’t look promising at all.

Still, he went down to meet up with lead coach Carl Peñalosa Jr. and they crossed the tree-lined Midosuji boulevard to seek shelter at the Shinsaibashi-suji Shopping Arcade.

After about 20 minutes, Taduran walked up to Peñalosa and told him it would be better to wait for the afternoon gym session.

“The air is a bit cool and even outdoors you won’t perspire even if you run,” Peñalosa said.

Taduran is not in panic mode.

In fact, he checked his weight just before sliding inside the elevator.

“107 pounds,” he reported to Peñalosa.

This Saturday, Taduran makes the first defense of the crown against Ginjiro Shigeoka of Japan and while he is not concerned about his weight, the Bicol-born fighter is not leaving any stone unturned.

A few hours later, Taduran and Peñalosa packed their bags, walked for about ten minutes and finally reached a gym-training facility operated by former Cebu fighter Regie Campos.

With the venue’s indoor weather adjusted to Taduran’s liking, the defending champion got his wish.

“It was really great and I worked out a sweat,” he said with perspiration forming on his forehead and eyebrows.

Before leaving the gym, Taduran checked on his weight and his face lit up.

“Just a little over 105 pounds,” said the 28-year-old southpaw.

The official weigh-in is taking place Friday at around noon and Taduran doesn’t see how he would end up scrambling to shed off excess baggage.

“I will just spit it out and that little extra is going to disappear,” he said.

Believing that they are not encountering weight woes, Taduran said he would still eat one boiled egg before the end of the day. He actually had two during lunch and a small plate of steamed broccoli plus apple juice.

After the weighin, Taduran is going to have a feast.

Campos and his wife are cooking every Filipino boxers’ favorite post-weighin meal: Boiled beef and vegetables in clear soup.

Instead of brisket or ribs, Campos is getting a not-so-popular cut but collagen-rich.

“Oxtail,” Campos said.

The meat variety isn’t fancy but given this city is close to Kobe, the port city where the luscious Wagyu originates, the kind of meat should be extra-special.

Like most of the successful Filipino fighters, Taduran oozes with confidence that he will get the job done not mainly because of the post-weighin sustenance but the hard work and sacrifice that he put in during his three-month camp with Peñalosa.

“When boxers of equal talent fight each other, the guy who is best prepared will win,” Peñalosa said.

“And that guy is my guy,” he added.