MANILA – Filipino boxers Vic Saludar and Robert Paradero will fight for the vacant World Boxing Association (WBA) minimumweight championship tonight at the Biñan Football Stadium in Biñan City, Laguna.
This will be the second opportunity for the Polomolok, Cotabato del Sur-native Saludar to clinch a world championship while the Malaybalay City, Bukidnon-native Paradero will fight for a world title for the first time in his pro career.
“I can’t tell what’s going to happen in the fight. We’re both trained hard and prepared to win,” said Saludar, a bronze medalist as an amateur boxer during the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games.
The 29-year-old Saludar previously held the World Boxing Organization (WBO) version of the 105-pound world title when he defeated Japanese Ryuya Yamanaka via unanimous decision in Kobe, Japan in 2018.
Saludar was able to defend the world championship once against Japanese Masataka Taniguchi, before yielding the belt to Puerto Rican Wilfredo Mendez in August 2019.
The 24-year-old Paradero has an unbeaten record but this will be his first time to fight a quality opponent in Saludar, who scored a sixth-round stoppage win over Mike Kinaadman in his previous bout last year.
Saludar will enter the match with an impressive 20-4-0 win-loss-draw ring record including 11 knockouts (KOs) and is ranked number four by the WBA. Paradero has a perfect 18-0 record with 12 KOs and rated number five by the WBA.
This will be the fifth all-Filipino world championship bout in boxing history and the first since Pedro Taduran scored a fourth-round stoppage of Samuel Salva to win the International Boxing Federation minimumweight crown two years ago.
Meanwhile, Ifugao boxer Carl Jammes Martin is set to take on much experienced Joe Tejones in the supporting bout of the fight card dubbed as “Night of Champions XXII.”
The 21-year-old Martin will enter the ring with a perfect 16-0-0 win-loss-draw record with 14 knockouts, while the 24-year-old Tejones is 13-7-0 slate with seven knockout victories. /PN
