Ginjiro Shigeoka put on a show of force during an open media workout heading into the final days before his chance to get back at Filipino champion Pedro Taduran in Osaka this Saturday.
Displaying clever footwork and his in-born power, Shigeoka told the Japanese media that he is in a better shape than the first time he faced Taduran.
In that fight, defending the International Boxing Federation (IBF) minimumweight crown in Otsu City near Kyoto last July, Shigeoka suffered a ninth-round technical knockout loss.
He had to brought out of the ring en route to a hospital on a stretcher following the massive beating Taduran inflicted on him.
Shigeoka, 25, even revealed that winning the fight by knockout is high on his priority list but he would not be foolish enough to force it in the scheduled 12-rounder at Intex Osaka.
Meanwhile, Taduran, 28, will be making the first defense of the IBF 105-pound plum and is looking forward to another abbreviated victory on hostile ground.
He and his team — made up of lead trainer Carl Peñalosa Jr. and handlers Cucuy and Marty Elorde — arrived in Osaka on Sunday.
On Monday, Taduran did roadwork then held his afternoon training at a kickboxing gym manned by a Filipino.
As for his diet — another major facet of his buildup for the fight — Taduran bared that the Elordes have tapped a group of Filipino residents in Japan to provide his nutritional needs.
“We are all doing good here,” Taduran reported from his room at Hotel Nikko in the Shinsainashi area, along the tree-lined Mido-suji Avenue in Central Osaka.
After Shiegoka, it will be Taduran’s turn to showcase his wares in front of the Japanese media on Tuesday at the KWorld3 Boxing Gym owned and operated by Kameda Promotions.
The official weigh-in and press conference are going to be held on Friday at the Hotel Monterey Grasmere and the fight begins at around. 4 p.m. (5 p.m. in Manila) on Saturday.