Saludar in line for title shot

Former WBO/WBA minimumweight champion Vic (Vicious) Saludar is ranked No. 1 by WBO in the 105-pound division and at 34 with 32 fights under his belt, knows time is running out to chase another world title. As the top contender, he’s in line for a mandatory challenge. There is talk that WBO/WBA ruler Oscar Collazo of Puerto Rico may move up to lightflyweight, vacating both his thrones. Saludar has faced Collazo once before, losing a unanimous 12-round decision in Los Angeles in 2022. They scored a knockdown each in a blazing seventh round and a rematch would be an attraction.

If Collazo relinquishes, Saludar will get the chance to regain the WBO strap in a battle with the next available highest-ranked fighter. China’s Dianxing Zhu, rated No. 2, is likely to be his opponent. Zhu, 28, has a 14-1 record with 12 KOs compared to Saludar’s 26-6 with 15 KOs. His only loss was a unanimous four-round decision to Fangyong Zhang in 2020. Among his victims were Filipinos Jerry Francisco, Marco John Rementizo, Richard Garde and Shane Gentallan.

To keep busy, Saludar took on Bohol’s Roldan Sasan on the undercard of the Jeong Seon Kang-Ryuto Owan mainer at the NuSTAR Convention Center, Cebu last Saturday. Saludar extended his win streak to five as he disposed of Sasan at 0:48 of the fourth with a body shot.

On the same “Binukbukay Sa Sugbo” show, hometowner Rodel (The Tank) Piala stormed back from a shaky start to drop defending WBO Oriental superfeatherweight champion Yeerjialahasi Laayibieke of China in the last frame enroute to wresting the crown via a unanimous 12-round verdict. Laayibieke, an Uyghur from Urumgi in the northwest Chinese interior, took the early lead and kept Piala on the defensive with his aggressive come-forward style. Then, Piala bloodied the Chinese’s nose in the sixth and changed tactics, moving side-to-side to throw Laayibieke off balance. The lateral movement created angles for Piala to throw his power right and Laayibieke couldn’t adjust defensively. Piala, 29, raised his record to 11-1, with one KO, his only loss a decision to Kenji Fujita in Tokyo last June.

In a bout for the vacant WBO Oriental welterweight belt, China’s Aketelieti Yelejian halted Bacolod’s Genesis Servania at 2:55 of the 10th. Servania, 33, scaled 144.4 pounds for the fight, the heaviest in his 16-year career. He weighed 136 3/4 in his previous fight last March. Servania has now lost four of his last seven outings, indicating he may be close to hanging up his gloves. In 2017, he entered the ring to face WBO featherweight king Oscar Valdez with a 29-0 record and lost a decision in Tucson after both fighters suffered a knockdown each.

It was a sentimental yet disappointing return to Cebu where Servania last fought in 2013. Servania hadn’t lost on homesoil before. His record dropped to 35-5, with 16 KOs. Yelejian, 26, improved his slate to 10-4-1, with three KOs. Last June, he lost a disputed majority 10-round decision to Albert Pagara in Passi, Iloilo but two months later, rebounded to outpoint Jin Su Kim for the vacant IBF Asia welterweight crown in Vietnam.