Taduran forces Shigeoka retirement following delicate brain procedure

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It's a sad ending for Ginjiro Shigeoka, one of the stars of Japanese boxing’s renaissance, as the 25-year-old recovers from a craniotomy following a loss to Filipino champion Pedro Taduran

MANILA, Philippines – Pedro Taduran sent Ginjiro Shigeoka into forced retirement following the Filipino champion’s split decision win in their rematch for the International Boxing Federation (IBF) minimumweight belt on Saturday, May 24, at Intex Osaka.

After the verdict had been announced, the Japanese went limp, fell unconscious, and was stretchered out of the ring and into the hospital, where he was operated on for acute subdural hematoma, bleeding in the brain presumably caused by the head punches he absorbed throughout the 12-round bout.

The surgical procedure entails the removal of a part of the skull to expose the brain and ease the pressure, the Japan Boxing Commission (JBC) said on Wednesday, May 28.

“According to JBC, Japanese former IBF champion Ginjiro Shigeoka has suffered from an acute subdural hematoma and has already undergone a craniotomy,” Viva Promotions, which handles Taduran’s career, wrote on Facebook.

“G. Shigeoka is still currently under observation in a private hospital in Osaka, Japan. The commission has already enforced that Shigeoka has to retire from boxing following his craniotomy procedure.”

It’s a sad ending for the 25-year-old Shigeoka, who won his first 11 bouts, nine by knockouts, and was hailed as one of the stars of Japanese boxing renaissance alongside Naoya Inoue and Junto Nakatani, until he got stopped in the ninth round and yielded the IBF 105-pound crown to Taduran on July 24, 2024.

That time, Shigeoka also collapsed in the ring and underwent surgery for an orbital fracture in the right eye.

Ginjiro’s permanent retirement leaves his older brother Yudai, the former World Boxing Council minimumweight titlist, to continue the Shigeoka ring legacy. – Rappler.com