Pedro Taduran defends IBF title with unanimous decision win

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

Filipino boxing star Pedro Taduran retained his International Boxing Federation minimumweight crown after pulling off a unanimous decision win over Spain’s Brandon Moreno on Nov. 8, 2026, at the Kiva Auditorium in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

With the victory, the pride of Libon, Albay, secured his fourth straight successful title defense and has not suffered a professional loss in three years.

Taduran lived up to his billing as one of the sport’s aggressive, high-volume fighters after putting immense pressure on Moreno for 12 straight rounds.

Relentless, highly active, and efficient in forcing exchanges in the middle of the ring, Taduran used crafty feints midway through the bout to neutralize Moreno’s reach advantage, luring the Spanish pugilist into a toe-to-toe brawl.

Taduran quickly dictated the pace of the fight as he stalked Moreno, circling the ring while throwing his signature one-two jab-straight combinations.

Moreno answered with a clinical counterpunching display in the second round, tagging Taduran with stiff straight lefts every time the Filipino ducked to close the distance.

However, Taduran doubled his work rate when the third round began and became more clever with his positioning to evade Moreno’s long jabs.

That adjustment paid dividends as Taduran outmaneuvered Moreno’s counters by keeping his punches compact while stepping back to maintain balance and avoid getting hit.

Taduran inflicted more damage as the rounds progressed, varying his offensive options after targeting Moreno’s body in the seventh round.

Those punches to the midsection eventually slowed Moreno, paving the way for a one-sided show in the championship rounds, from the 10th through the 12th.

After 12 rounds of boxing, all three ringside judges scored the bout in favor of Taduran, 120-108, 115-113, and 115-113.

The successful title defense improved Taduran’s professional record to 21 wins, including 14 knockouts, and four losses, while Moreno suffered his first defeat in 16 fights.