Pedro Taduran began like he had better places to be, winging power shots and advancing with bad intentions against a slippery, counter-punching challenger in Christian Balunan.

Balunan (12-1, 7 KOs) was a heavy pre-fight underdog given his inexperience at world championship level, refused to relent despite being pressed on the back foot for sustained periods - suffering a nasty cut in round four - and absorbing damage aplenty afterwards.

Taduran (19-4-1, 13 KOs) made a successful second defence of his IBF strawweight crown with scores of 117-111 and 118-110 twice in their all-Filipino main event during the first of two Thrilla In Manila II shows at the San Andres Sports Complex in Manila, Philippines.

Balunan smiled as he took early punishment to head and body, unable to stop the champion from pressing forward and forcing him to box on his back foot with infrequent success.

The longer their exchanges went, the more important it was for Balunan to turn the tide - at least as far as optics were concerned - as he was having to duck and dive away from fast flurries and deft work downstairs.

Balunan looked dazed and was quickly in survival mode late in the fourth, Taduran chasing him and unloading more combinations as the challenger sported a nasty gash above his eyebrow from an accidental clash of heads.

There was increasing concern over Balunan's cut in the fifth, Taduran continuing to blitz him where possible while the challenger's face had turned a cherry red collour as their scrappy exchanges up close kept the referee busy.

Midway through the sixth, the official paused the action for another inspection on Balunan's cut - one Taduran wasn't shy to target - though he was allowed to continue. An increasingly static target by this stage, he always fired back enough to avoid a premature stoppage but the pressure was starting to weigh heavy on the 25-year-old.

After being tagged by left hands with more of the same in round seven, Balunan had to pick himself up off the canvas in the eighth, but it was ruled a slip rather than a knockdown as you wondered aloud whether to take pity on a courageous challenger.

It should've been called a knockdown, Taduran couldn't miss with his right hand in that sequence, even if he fell awkwardly after being overwhelmed.

Balunan's face was bloodied in the ninth, as it became increasingly clear this would likely go the distance unless the challenger's corner were compassionate enough to avoid him eating more punishment - something that couldn't be said for Jayson Vayson as he suffered a dubious seventh-round stoppage by WBO and Ring champion Oscar Collazo last month.

There was clear mutual respect between the pair, but Taduran couldn't find the finishing touches to rubberstamp an otherwise accomplished performance on home soil.

After a pulsating 10-round tussle, Miel Fajardo's final round knockdown put the exclamation mark on an impressive display against Esneth Domingo to claim a regional flyweight title.

The scorecards read 98-91, 96-93, 96-93 for the 25-year-old during a tense battle often unfolding at centre ring, 'Silent Assasin' flooring Domingo (22-4, 14 KOs) in the last frame after sustained body work and flurries chipped away at Domingo's resolve.

Fajardo (13-3-2, 11 KOs) has now won two straight after consecutive 12-round decision defeats last year, first by IBF junior flyweight champion Thanongsak Simsri and then Tanzania's Mchanja Yohana on his return to the 112-pound class.

In the evening's other featured bout, Hong Kong veteran Rex Tso looked well on his way to a stoppage victory over India's Sagar Chouhan before an accidental clash of heads cut the latter, with their bantamweight contest ruled a no decision after two rounds.