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KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – Vic Saludar won’t let the crown slip away this time.
The Filipino knocked down Japanese champion Ryuya Yamanaka in the seventh round Friday night, July 13, and went on to clinch the World Boxing Organization minimum weight title by unanimous decision at the Central Gym in Kobe, Japan.
His spirits propped up by that right-induced knockdown, Saludar earned the nod of the judges, 116-111, 115-112, 117-110.
Saludar, the pride of South Cotabato, raised his record to 18-3 with 10 KOs while handing Yamanaka, a native of Kobe, his third loss against 16 wins laced with 5 knockouts.
The 27-year-old Saludar thus erased the memory of a stingy failed title bid on New Year’s Eve 2015 in Osaka, Japan.
Saludar was ahead on all the scorecards after five rounds when Japanese Kosei Tanaka caught him with a left hook to the body and dropped him for the count late in the sixth round.
Yamanaka, a speedy stylist wanting in power, came in at 47.5 kg or 104.72 pounds while the power-punching Saludar checked in at 47.4 or 104.5.
Yamanaka, who was defending the crown for the second time, also lost to a Filipino journeyman, Lauro Roque Intelegando, in 2014.
Saludar hopes his victory will inspire his brother, Froilan, who’ll be gunning for the WBO flyweight crown against Japanese Sho Kimura on July 27 in Qingdao, China.
The 29-year-old Froilan totes an impressive 28-2-1 slate with 19 knockouts, while Kimura is 16-1-2 with 9 KOs.
If Froilan wins, the Saludars will become the first Filipino brothers to reign as world champions at the same time. – Rappler.com
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