IBF champ Taduran ready to rumble

A key figure in Pedro Taduran’s rise to the top arrived in Las Vegas a couple of days ago.

Marty Elorde, son of the late great junior-lightweight legend Flash Elorde, brought along the uniform of the Filipino southpaw, who makes the third defense of the International Boxing Federation (IBF) minimumweight crown against Gustavo Perez Alvarez of Mexico on 3 April in Temecula, California.

Marty manages Taduran alongside sister Cucuy, who have been handling the affairs of the volume-punching fighter since 2024.

Under the Elordes, Taduran fought for the world title in 2024 and defended it twice, first in Osaka and the other in Manila, both taking place last year.

According to oddsmakers, Taduran, sporting a 19-4-1 win-loss-draw record with 13 knockouts, is a huge favorite to retain the IBF 105-pound title and put him in a position towards bigger bouts down the road.

But Alvarez, who holds a 16-1-0 record with five knockouts, is hungry and determined to mess up Taduran’s plans.

The Pechanga Resort Casino will host the Taduran-Alvarez showdown as part of Manny Pacquiao Promotions’ series of shows programmed in 2026.

Team Taduran makes a land trip to Temecula from Sin City on 1 April. Leading the party is Sean Gibbons, who represents the Bicol-born banger. Part of the entourage is lead trainer Carl Peñalosa, who is presiding over training camp the past several weeks.

Meanwhile, another Filipino, ex-world champion Mark “Magnifico” Magsayo returns to action on 5 April at the Meta Apex in Las Vegas.

Magsayo faces Feargal McCrory in a 10-round lightweight bout as part of a show being put up by ZUFFA Boxing, a new outfit aimed at changing the landscape of boxing promotions worldwide.

Dana White, the president of UFC is the company’s Chief Executive Officer with Turki Alalshikh, chairman of the Saudi Arabian General Entertainment Authority, also holding a prime position alongside Ari Emanuel, Nick Khan and Rakan Alharthy.