Hungry for K.O.

Pedro Taduran swore that he could have scored an abbreviated victory if only his Spanish rival Brandon Moreno fought like a challenger and stood toe-to-toe with him over the weekend in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

“He was always on the run,” said Taduran, who carved out a 12-round unanimous decision to retain his International Boxing Federation (IBF) mini-flyweight crown for tje fourth time at the Kiva Auditorium.

Even the Filipino’s American handler Sean Gibbons thought that Moreno’s style made it difficult for Taduran to score a more emphatic victory.

Not that Taduran was a shell of his old, fiery self.

“Moreno wanted to stay in there (and avoid getting stopped),” Gibbons said.

Still, Taduran tipped his hat to the fast-moving Moreno, who came in as the IBF’s mandatory challenger.

“I saw that he was breathing hard but it was very clear that he also wanted to win,” Taduran said.

But Taduran’s volume-punching and his incredible endurance proved too great for the Madrid-born contender to overcome as he absorbed his first defeat in 17 matches.

“In the last three rounds, I did my best to put him away and score a stoppage but he kept on running.”

“For most of the time, he was fighting like (Floyd) Mayweather.”

Interestingly, Mayweather was at ringside and Taduran admitted that he felt the need to make an impression.

“He’s also an idol so I tried to impress him.”

The victory raised Taduran’s win-loss-draw record to 21-4-1 with 14 knockouts and Gibbons sees his fighter defending the IBF 105-pound title for the fifth time in February or March next year as part of a five-dight deal they signed with the New York-based Salita Promotions.

“It’s going to be a big 2027 for Pedro,” said Cucuy Elorde, who co-manages the Bicol-born banger alongside his elder brother Marty Elorde.