Saludar, Suarez off to big starts

MANILA, Philippines - Rey Saludar edged local bet Kurmetov while Charly Suarez held off Iraqi Ammar via the same scores to kick off the PLDT-ABAP team’s campaign in Kazakhtan’s President’s Cup which got under way Tuesday in Almaty, Kazakhstan.

Saludar, 26, defeated Kurmetov while Suarez thwarted Ammar, 30-27, 30-27, 29-28, in a big start for the Filipino fighters in the event, serving as part of the final selection process of the Association of Boxing Alliances in the Philippines (ABAP) for the Asian Games in September.

Suarez, fighting in his first international tournament after his stint with the Milano Thunder in the World Series of Boxing last year, was sidelined with a spate of injuries upon his return from Italy and was mostly inactive for one and a half years.

But the Sawata, Davao del Norte native came back strong and eased out his Iraqi rival to advance to the next round of the top-level tournament.

Another team of boxers is slated to fly to Guiyang, China on Sunday for the equally strong China Open.

The other boxers in Almaty are Rogen Ladon and Dennis Galvan, who was set to slug it out with Chinzorig of Mongolia Wednesday.

In the same card, Suarez faces Kazakhstan’s Jumsakbaev.

Saludar fights again on Thursday versus Jorge of Cuba while Ladon, who drew a bye, will tackle another Kazakh, Erjan.

The event drew 104 boxers from 12 countries, including crack pugs from Uzbekistan, Russia and Azerbaijan.

Coaches are Nolito Velasco and Elmer Pamisa while team manager is ABAP executive director Ed Picson.