UNLESS it ended up in a draw, a Filipino world boxing champion is expected to emerge tonight.
Samuel Salva and Pedro Taduran slug for the IBF minimumweight crown at the Jurado Hall of the Philippine Marine Corps headquarters in Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City.
MP Promotions president Sean Gibbons said the Salva-Taduran battle is a historic one since it will be the first time in almost a century that two Filipinos are facing off in a world title fight on Philippine soil.
“The last time was when Pancho Villa defended the world flyweight title against Clever Sencio in 1925,” Gibbons said during his appearance at the Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) Forum recently.
“The fight will be free to the public as an offering of Sen. (Manny) Pacquiao, whose advocacy is to look after the welfare of Filipino sportsmen,” he added. “This is an exciting time for Filipino boxers.”
Salva boasts of a 17-0-0 win-loss-draw ring record with 10 KOs while Taduran, nicknamed Rattlesnake and a one-time world title challenger, sports a 13-2-0 ledger with 10 KOs.
The Salva-Taduran clash will be the second event of the MP Promotions in the past few weeks following the interim World Boxing Organization bantamweight title clash starring John Riel Casimero last month at the San Andres Sports Complex in Malate.
Also under MP Promotions are world champion Jerwin Ancajas and the fast-rising duo of Marlon Tapales and Jhack Tepora, both assured of world title shots before the year ends.
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Also hoping to snatch a boxing title this weekend is Ilonggo Jenel Lausa, who will be vying for the GBO Asia Pacific bantamweight championship when he faces Indonesian Carlos Lopez in Digos City.
This will be the first title bout of the Concepcion, Iloilo-native Lausa since previously handling the Philippine Boxing Federation (PBF) super bantamweight championship in 2016.
This will be Lausa’s fourth consecutive boxing bout after being away for a few years due to his contract with UFC. In his last three games, Lausa drew with Jhunriel Ramonal and winning over Rolly Llino and Angelito Merin.
The 31-year-old Lausa will be entering the ring with an unblemished 9-0-1 win-loss-draw ring record, including five stoppage wins, while Lopez has 28-9-0 card, with nine stoppage wins./PN
