Taduran avoiding burnout

International Boxing Federation (IBF) minimumweight champion Pedro Taduran swears that all bases are covered in his bid to retain the105-pound crown for the third time against Gustavo Perez of Mexico next week in Temecula, California.

To ensure that he won’t be battered and bruised when the bell rings, Taduran’s chief trainer Carl Peñalosa presided over his last sparring session on Wednesday at the Knuckleheads Boxing Gym in Las Vegas.

Having already done all the hard work the past six weeks, Taduran believes he is all primed for battle when he faces Perez in a scheduled 12-rounder at the Pechanga Resort Casino.

“The hard part of training camp is over,” Taduran told DAILY TRIBUNE from Sin City, stressing that the remaining days will be focused on him maintaining his strength and monitoring his weight.

“This will allow my body to recover and avoid burnout,” he added.

Taduran arrived in the United States on New Year’s Day hoping to secure a unification showdown with Puerto Rican two-belt titleholder Oscar Collazo, who eventually opted to take on a lesser-known rival named Jesus Haro two weeks ago.

With the Filipino southpaw aching for action, his American backer Sean Gibbons arranged for him to stay active as well by tapping Perez.

“This guy Perez is a lot better than the guy Collazo fought,” Gibbons said, adding that a victory by Taduran should enhance his chances of getting that big payday with Collazo.

In the coming days, Taduran will just go over the fight plan with Peñalosa, who has been reviewing a pair of videos of Perez.

“Just found another video of Perez and I have been studying it,” said Peñalosa, brother of two-division world champions Dodie Boy and Gerry.

Peñalosa joined Taduran in America in late-February for the crucial stage of the buildup.

“I believe we have covered pretty much everything, from sparring to gym workouts,” he said, noting that Taduran must have already sparred 110 to 120 rounds mostly against Cuban Joahnys Argilagos.

“We are ready to go,” Peñalosa added.