It now appears that Pedro Taduran is no longer wanted in Japan.

Not because the Filipino world champion is boring.

“They don’t want to have anything to do with him,” American dealmaker Sean Gibbons told DAILY TRIBUNE on Tuesday.

Taduran is due to make a mandatory defense of his International Boxing Federation (IBF) minimumweight crown and the identity of his next challenger will be known soon.

“The IBF is releasing its latest ratings anytime soon and we’d know who’s Taduran’s fighting when the new rankings are out,” Gibbons said.

Chinese Zhu Dianxing is the official mandatory contender but promotional and managerial issues have made him unavailable for a proposed clash with Taduran in late-October.

Upon being told of Zhu’s predicament, Gibbons reached out to the people handling the other ranked Japanese boxers.

“None of them want that (IBF) belt that Pedro has,” said Gibbons, noting that Taduran’s two brutal wins over Ginjiro Shigeoka remain fresh in their minds.

First time Taduran beat Shigeoka, he was awarded a ninth-round technical knockout when they rumbled in Otsu City exactly two years ago.

In the rematch, Shigeoka went the distance when he faced Taduran in Osaka in May last year but he was so badly hurt that he collapsed and was brought to the hospital.

Shigeoka had to undergo a brain operation before being allowed to go home nine months later.

Given his condition, Shigeoka will no longer fight again.

Meanwhile, Taduran has reported back in training to get ready for the mandatory defense.