Mexican vows to stop Saluday in first round

DAVAO CITY – Former World Boxing Council featherweight champion Gregorio "Goyo" Vargas of Mexico vowed to stop his Filipino opponent Cristopher Saluday of Davao City on Oct. 26 at the RMC gym in the main supporting bout of the Duel in Davao between IBF superbantamweight champion Manny Pacquiao and challenger Fahprakorb Rakkiatgym of Thailand.

The 31-year-old Vargas arrived here together with his father and manager Gregorio Sr.

"I can knockout him in the first round," Vargas told boxing promoter Soc Piñol in Spanish at the Davao International Airport.

Vargas has a record of 41 wins with 29 knockouts. He only lost seven times and had one draw. The 5-foot-6 Vargas met the 22-year- old Saluday yesterday at the Duel in Davao office and gamely made a fighting pose to the media.

Vargas said that he still have one more fight before he goes up again for the WBC title in Thailand. He previously scored a seventh round knockout against Celso Delgado last March 15.

Vargas won the Mexican featherweight diadem in 1991 with a decision over Ulyssis Chong. He defended it seven times before winning the WBC featherweight crown at the expense of Paul Hodkinson in 1993. He lost it to Kevin Kelley on December that year following a non-title victory over Clifford Hicks.

He vied for the International Boxing Federation junior lightweight title in 1994, but lost in a 12-round decision to John-John Molina. After his debacle, Goyo went on to rack up five more wins before losing to the talented Carlos Famoso Hernandez in 1997.

He rebounded with a string of six victories, including a decision verdict over the very tough Wonder Ben Tackie in Las Vegas. He tried to make a run for the WBC junior lightweight title against pound-for-pound great Floyd Mayweather Jr. but lost via a 12-round decision.

Saluday, a native of Monkayo, Compostela Valley province, is fresh from three straight wins all by knockouts in Indonesia. He once traveled to Thailand to take on now-WBC champion Sirimongkol Singmananassuk, made a gallant effort before losing via a sixth-round stoppage.

Saluday won his first pro assignments before losing to former national knockout champion Rud 4K Kevkatche.