The IBF championship bout between Daniel Valladeres and Ginjiro Shigeoka – in the lowest division of men’s boxing, Minimumweight – was ruled a no-contest after Valladeres complained of dizziness after his head accidentally clashed with Shigeoka’s cheekbone. The match was held on January 6th at the Edion Arena in Osaka, Japan. Valladeres retained his IBF Minimumweight world title as a result of the clash.
As the twelve-round bout didn’t make it to fourth rounds, the match was ruled a no-contest rather than going on the scorecards and being ruled a technical decision. The bout was initially ruled a draw, before being ruled as a no-contest.
Mexican champion Daniel Valladeres (26-3-1, 15 KO’s) and Japanese contender Ginjiro Shigeoka (8-0, 6 KO’s) were evenly-matched in the first two rounds. As the challenger, Shigeoka spared no time in looking to push the action, and though Valladeres seemed to fend off Shigeoka’s attacks well initially, by the third round he was clearly struggling.
Ginjiro Shigeoka seemed to gain significant ground in the third round with his pressure, but the match was paused when Daniel Valladeres accidentally clashed with his head on Shigeoka’s cheek and the Mexican started complaining to the referee citing feeling dizziness. To ensure the safety of Valladeres, the bout was eventually canceled and ruled a no-contest after the officials had surmised the four rounds to rule it a technical decision, wasn’t reached.
Both fighters were left in disappointment and the tears with the announcement of the match, with Valladeres being unable to record a significant defense of his world title, and Shigeoka having missed out on capturing a world title for the first time.
The inconclusive result will potentially be rectified however, as a rematch was soon scheduled for April 16 at the Yoyogi National Gymnasium in Tokyo, Japan.
Daniel Valladeres won the IBF Minimumweight title on the 1st of July in 2022 when he beat Rene Mark Cuarto (21-3-2, 12 KO’s) by split-decision who had been the reigning IBF champion up until his loss. Valladeres had a tough journey to the top when he suffered back-to-back decision losses in just one year. A good year in 2021 changed his fortunes however, and when he was chosen as the challenger for former IBF champion Rene Mark Cuarto, Valladeres grabbed his opportunity with both hands to come out the winner.
Ginjiro Shigeoka, the younger brother of fellow unbeaten pro boxer Yudai Shigeoka (6-0, 4 KO’s), is a Japanese prospect that has already impressed with key victories that won him several national and international titles within just eight fights. Shigeoka made his pro debut in 2018 and has quickly gone on to establish a name domestically with his confident and dominant performances in his home country.
With the match continuing in April, hopefully a worthwhile conclusion will be occur for one of the most exciting matches in the lowest weight division.
