Taduran kneels before Pacquiao

Pedro Taduran swears that eight-division legend Manny Pacquiao was right on the money in his assessment of his last fight, a seventh-round stoppage of Mexican Gustavo Perez Alvarez in his third defense of the International Boxing Federation (IBF) minimumweight crown in Temecula, California.

“What he said was true,” Taduran told DAILY TRIBUNE on Friday after the paper’s video interview of Pacquiao reached him.

“I really have to make adjustments, head movement and foot work,” added Taduran, who is also a southpaw like Pacquiao.

While Taduran went on to beat up Alvarez, he actually lost the first round as the challenger struck with crisp one-two combinations made possible by lateral movement.

Even in the fifth round, after suffering a knockdown in the fourth frame, Alvarez managed to storm back and befuddle Taduran with his fluidity, something that didn’t go unnoticed, not by the eagle eyes of Pacquiao, who was at ringside the Pechanga Resort Casino.

In a chat with a couple of media entities a few days ago in Los Angeles, Pacquiao gave Taduran a high mark for his successful defense of the IBF 105-pound crown.

“It’s just that he has to work on head movement and footwork because these are very important. He’s got to be more aggressive,” said Pacquiao, stressing that there is no doubt that Taduran has a big fighting heart.

“Mucho rapido, mucho mano,” he said, obviously referring to his very own fighting style.

Meanwhile, Taduran, one of just two current Filipino world champions, is back with his family in his house in Laguna for a short vacation.

“I should be back jogging and doing light training pretty soon,” said Taduran, who is eyeing a unification showdown with Oscar Collazo, the Puerto Rican two-belt titleholder next.