Taduran taps temporary trainer
PEDRO Taduran (second from left) will have Joven Jimenez (left) as his trainer when he defends the IBF title against Spanish Brandon Moreno next month. Also helping Taduran in camp are US-based boxer Jino Rodrigo (third from left), American Pete Sussens and ex-world champion Jerwin Ancajas.
Photographs courtesy of Kendrick Paul/FB
Federation (IBF) minimumweight champion Pedro Taduran won’t have the luxury of having his chief trainer Carl Peñalosa in his corner when he defends the title for the fourth time on 7 November in the United States.
Peñalosa, who has been in Taduran’s corner since 2024, was unable to secure a visa from the US Embassy on Tuesday.
Taduran tangles with Spanish mandatory challenger Brandon Moreno at the Kiva Auditorium in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Taduran’s camp was quick to plug the hole when the Filipino southpaw’s American promoter and official representative Sean Gibbons tapped Joven Jimenez to temporarily assume the role of lead trainer.
Gibbons also ordered former world champion Jerwin Ancajas and Las Vegas-based boxer Jino Rodrigo to lend Jimenez a helping hand.
Taduran, 29, has been training in Las Vegas the last five days.
During Taduran’s last defense — a seventh-round knockout of Mexican Gustavo Perez Alvarez I Temecula, California, last April — Peñalosa was right there to call the shots.
Peñalosa, brother of the great Peñalosa brothers Dodie Boy and Gerry, was also present when Taduran won the IBF plum by halting Ginjiro Shigeoka in Otsu City, Japan, in July 2024.
In his first defense — a rematch with Shigeoka — Peñalosa was there when Taduran outpointed Shigeoka in Osaka in May last year.
Five months later, Peñalosa steered Taduran to a lopsided win over compatriot Christian Balunan during the 50th anniversary festivities of the Thrilla in Manila.
Taduran’s camp will welcome the arrival of manager Marty Elorde, who is arriving in the US on Saturday, from Manila.