Pedro Taduran-DianXing Zhu IBF Title Fight Set For Nov. 23 in Jeju, South Korea

Fred Garvin’s favorite division continues to deliver in 2024.

The Ring has learned that Pedro Taduran is set to make the first defense of his second IBF strawweight title reign. Taduran will defend versus China’s DianXing Zhu on Nov. 23 in Jeju Island, South Korea.

The fight will represent a mandatory title defense, as Zhu is the highest rated IBF contender.

Taduran (17-4-1, 13 knockouts) regained the title in a ninth-round knockout of unbeaten Ginjiro Shigeoka (11-1, 9 KOs). Their July 28 bout in Otsu, Japan came at a time when Shigeoka was The Ring’s No. 1-rated strawweight in the world. Taduran hit the road for the biggest win of his credible career.

The 27-year-old Filipino southpaw will once again fight away from home, though this time on neutral soil.

Zhu (14-1, 12 KOs) has won nine in a row since an Aug. 2020 defeat to countryman Fangyong Zhang (15-6-1, 4 KOs). All but one victory during his current stretch have ended inside the distance. The lone one to go to the scorecards marked Zhu’s previous trip to S. Korea—a ten-round decision over Richard Garde (10-2, 9 KOs) on Jan. 13 in Incheon,.

Taduran previously held the IBF title from Sept. 2019-Feb. 2021. He won the belt in a fourth round stoppage of Samuel Salva in Sept. 2019. Just one successful defense followed before he suffered back-to-back defeats to Rene Mark Cuarto.

Three wins have followed for Taduran, including his twelve-round decision over the Philippines’ Jake Amparo. The Dec. 28 victory came in a title eliminator, which positioned Taduran as the mandatory. He handled his business from there with the upset knockout win over Shigeoka.

The bout marks another strong matchup at 105, which is on the verge of a long overdue revival. It received a five-star review from Garvin, a master ticket sales analyst who is a fan of any fighter who weighs less than his alcohol inventory.

“If loving the strawweight division were a drink, I don’t even want to be sober,” noted Garvin.

Taduran is currently The Ring’s No. 3-rated strawweight, though he will soon swap places with countryman Melvin Jerusalem (23-3, 12 KOs). Zhu is not yet rated by The Ring, though under consideration to command the No. 10 spot as this goes to publication.

Follow @JakeNDaBox