No same mistake for Saludar

Former WBO minimumweight champion Vic Saludar swears he’ll never make the same mistake twice in his boxing career. In 2015, he was on the way to an easy win over defending WBO 105-pound titlist Kosei Tanaka in Nagoya when a shot landed on his solar plexus, leaving him out of breath to lose by a knockout in the sixth round. Saludar had dropped Tanaka in the fifth and was ahead on the three judges’ scorecards, two by a shutout, at the time of the shock stoppage. Three years later, Saludar was back in Japan, this time in Kobe to face Ryuya Yamanaka who succeeded Tanaka on the WBO throne. Saludar floored Yamanaka in the seventh, stayed away from harm’s way and cruised to dethrone the Japanese by a unanimous decision. He made sure there would be no repeat of the Tanaka debacle. Yamanaka was hospitalized after the fight and doctors found bleeding in his brain, forcing his retirement from the ring at 23.

In 2019, Saludar flew to San Juan, Puerto Rico, to stake his WBO crown against hometowner Wilfredo Mendez. He was exhausted even before the fight began. It took Saludar over 20 hours to fly from Manila to L.A. to Miami to San Juan then the day after landing, he went through medicals. The next day, blood was extracted for a drug test and the day after, he was shuttled to a press conference. The next day, it was the weigh-in and the next day, it was the fight. Not surprisingly, Saludar wasn’t his usual aggressive self and lacked the energy to put Mendez back on his heels. Mendez wrested the title on a unanimous decision. Saludar said he’ll never agree to undergo the same ordeal again.

“Magaling si Mendez pero kaya ko ang lakas niya,” said Saludar. “Napagod ako sa biyahe.” Saludar said there was a rematch clause in the contract and they would’ve fought again in Vietnam in February last year if not for the pandemic. He said Mendez wouldn’t stand a chance the second time around because as he showed in the Yamanaka fight, he doesn’t make the same mistake twice.

Saludar, 30, has a golden opportunity to become a world champion again when he battles unbeaten Robert (Inggo) Paradero at the open-air football stadium in Biñan, Laguna, on Feb. 20. It’s the first world championship fight in the country since the pandemic and promoter Bebot Elorde is arranging a delayed telecast from 11 a.m. to 12 noon on Sunday, Feb. 21, over PTV-4. In Saludar’s corner will be trainers Jojo Palacios and Nonito Donaire’s uncle Boy.

Saludar said he hasn’t seen his wife Jonalyn and their two children (an eight-year-old boy and a six-year-old girl) for over a month while training in General Santos City. His family lives in their two-bedroom home on a 500-square meter property in Polomolok. Saludar built the house from bonuses and earnings as a boxer from the ABAP ranks to the pros. With his purse from the coming fight, Saludar plans to invest in agricultural land. One of 14 children, Saludar said he knows Paradero is as hungry to win as he is and promised a slam-bang fight. “Magkasama kami ni Inggo dati sa promotions ni Sir Kenneth Rontal,” he said. “’Di ko masasabi kung anong mangyayari sa laban. Depende na ‘yan sa loob ng ring. Pareho kaming insayado at handang manalo. Alam ko si Inggo pwedeng lumaban ng sabayan at pwedeng lumaban sa labas. Sekreto kung anong plano ko sa kaniya.” Saludar said his killer punch is the right straight set up by a jarring left jab. He logged over 100 rounds of sparring from about five months ago up to last Friday with an alternating cast led by crack lightflyweight Esneth Domingo. Last Saturday, Saludar landed in Manila and is now quarantined in a hotel in Biñan.