No more trilogy
By Joaquin Henson
PhilBoxing.com
Wed, 09 Feb 2022
Last Sunday, IBF minimumweight champion Rene Mark Cuarto retained his title via a technical majority decision in the seventh round over Pedro Taduran, the man he dethroned, in Digos, Davao del Sur with GAB chairman Baham Mitra in attendance. The rematch ended in a cloud of controversy as did the first encounter but the consensus is there will be no trilogy. It would be a different story if Taduran won one of the two meetings but Cuarto swept and he’s moving on.
“Wala ng trilogy,” said Cuarto’s trainer Nonoy Neri. “May laban na si Cuarto sa Mexico kontra Daniel Valladares sa Abril.” Valladares, 27, was Taduran’s first challenger in 2020 and they battled to a technical majority draw in the fourth round in Nuevo Leon, Mexico. Taduran claimed the vacant title on a fourth round stoppage of Samuel Salva in 2019 and lost the throne to Cuarto on a close unanimous verdict two years later. The rematch should’ve settled their differences once and for all but it didn’t happen.
Referee Danrex Tapdasan called two knockdowns against Taduran in rounds two and six although one of them looked more like a push-down. Tapdasan deducted two points from Cuarto for an intentional butt in the third round. Then, in the seventh, the ringside physician ruled Taduran unable to continue because of a bad cut on his forehead due to an accidental butt. It went to the scorecards. Judge Brembot Dulalas had it 65-all while judge Ver Abainza saw it 65-64 and judge Nic Banal, 66-64, both for Cuarto. At the end of the fifth, two judges had it even and one had Taduran ahead. If not for the two knockdowns, Taduran would’ve won.
The fight was sloppy from the onset with Cuarto slipping twice in the first round and once in the second. In the sixth, Cuarto was pushed down against the ropes. Taduran dropped vertically on both knees in the second knockdown and it seemed like he was pushed from the head. A punch wouldn’t bring a fighter down on his knees vertically. It appeared that Taduran had taken control and gained momentum when the fight was abruptly halted. Actually, Taduran deserves another crack at his former belt but Cuarto is looking forward to bigger game. Cuarto, 25, has a record of 20-2-2, with 11 KOs while Taduran’s mark slipped to 14-4-1, with 11 KOs. Valladares totes a slate of 25-3-1, with 15 KOs.
Taduran’s manager Art Monis said videos showed no clear knockdowns, only clear push-downs. “Ayaw na namin ng rematch kung sa lugar nila,” declared Monis. Mitra said a third fight is unlikely. “Fight again?” he said. “Nag-rematch na. Baka sa labas na next fight.” Sure enough, Cuarto’s second defense will be in Mexico. Last Sunday’s scrap was the third world championship fight involving two Filipinos sanctioned by GAB since the pandemic struck.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Joaquin Henson.
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