Victor Saludar yields WBA crown in Dominican Republic

MANILA, Philippines – Victor Saludar was given two knockdowns and lost his World Boxing Association minimum weight crown to Erick Rosa Pacheco via split decision on Tuesday, December 21 (Wednesday, December 22, Manila time) at the Hotel Catalonia in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

The aggressor and busier fighter, Saludar also knocked down Pacheco in the 10th round but it wasn’t enough to sway the judges’ decision.

The second knockdown assessed Saludar in the ninth round came after a clinch and the sequence wasn’t shown on the replays, leaving fight fans in the dark as to what really happened.

Pacheco, using a hit and run tactic, caught an off-balanced Saludar with a left straight for the fight’s first knockdown in the third round.

Saludar was unhurt, however, and after yielding the fourth round, resumed his assault against the 21-year-old Dominican phenom.

Pacheco, a southpaw dubbed “Mini PacMan,” improved to 5-0 with 1 knockout, while Saludar fell to 21-5 with 11 knockouts.

In prime form, Saludar did not even sit on his corner for most of the rounds and seems good for more rounds when the final bell rang.

It was a double whammy for the Saludar brothers as hours earlier, Froilan Saludar also failed in his bid for the World Boxing Association Oriental super flyweight belt to hometown bet Andrew Moloney at The Star Event Centre in Sydney, Australia.

Unlike Vic, Froilan was clearly in the receiving end of his bout against Moloney and dropped a clear unanimous decision. – Rappler.com