By Adrian Stewart Co

Rene Mark Cuarto retained his IBF world mini-flyweight championship following a technical majority decision over Pedro Taduran on Sunday night at Digos City Gymnasium.

Both fighters showed aggressiveness in the entire bout until it was stopped midway in the seventh frame as Taduran suffered a cut from an accidental headbutt.

After the stoppage, two judges in Silvestre Abainza and Nicolas Banal gave it 65-64 and 66-64, respectively, for the defending champion while Brembot Dulalas saw the bout even at 65-65.

Showing that his previous win against Taduran was no fluke, Cuarto went to work early with his combination hits before scoring a knockdown on Taduran in the second round.

Cuarto, however, was deducted two points by referee Danrex Tapdasan in the third frame due to an intentional clash of heads with Taduran during a heated exchange.

Knowing that he needs to catch up following the deduction, Cuarto went to work anew in the fourth, fifth and sixth round that resulted on another knockdown on Taduran.

The world title clash, however, was stopped shortly into the seventh round as Taduran was bleeding profusely from a cut on his forehead in the earlier round.

Taduran’s corner had been able to stem the bleeding in the sixth, but the cut opened again in the seventh and the ringside doctor ordered a stop to the match.

This marked the second consecutive victory by Cuarto over Taduran. The Zamboanga del Norte native won their first bout via unanimous decision on February 27, 2021. The close nature of the contest led the IBF to order a rematch, however.

With the victory, Cuarto improves to 20-2-2 in his professional career, while Taduran drops to 14-4-1 following the loss./ASC, WDJ