By REYNALD MAGALLON
Filipino champion Pedro Taduran is set to defend his International Boxing Federation (IBF) minimumweight title against Chinese challenger Zhu DianXing on Nov. 23 in Jeju Island in South Korea.
It is set to be the first title defense of Taduran since reclaiming the IBF crown with a ninth-round technical knockout victory over then champion Ginjiro Shigeoka last July.
Taduran is sporting a 17-4-1 record with 13 knockouts and will be coming in as the favorite in the bout although Zhu is formidable on his own right boasting a 14-1 record with 12 knockouts.
Zhu is also rated No. 3 in the IBF rankings while No.4 and No. 5 in the World Boxing Organization (WBO) and World Boxing Council (WBC) lists respectively.
Facing up against Filipinos is no stranger for the Chinese pug, having fought and defeated PH boxers in his last three bouts while defending his WBO global minimum crown.
However, the pride of Libon, Albay is on an entirely different level from the Filipinos Zhu had faced especially with Taduran already proved to have enough skill and firepower on a caliber of a world champion.
Interestingly, like Taduran, another Filipino minimumweight champion in Melvin Jerusalem is also set to defend his WBC strap against Mexican challenger Luis Castillo on Sept. 22.
