Saludar falls

FROILAN Saludar suffered a devastating second-round knockout loss to hometown guy McWilliams Arroyo Thursday (Friday morning in Manila) at Coliseo Ruben Rodriguez in Bayamon, Puerto Rico.

It was also a major blow against the fledgling career of Saludar, who at 25 is trying to carve a niche for himself after Filipino boxing heroes Manny Pacquiao, Nonito Donaire Jr., Donnie Nietes and Brian Viloria.

Saludar, an erstwhile unbeaten fighter from Digos, Davao del Sur, was fighting for the right to challenge for the IBF flyweight title, according to Rich Mazon of philboxing.com.

But the Puerto Rican jarred him with a left hook in the second round before felling him with another left hook in the 2:25 mark. The Filipino KO artist tried to get on his feet but he failed to beat referee Genaro Rodriguez’s count.

A brother of PH team stalwarts Rey and Victorio, Saludar’s record dropped to 19-1-1 with 12 KOs. However, his camp believes the 5-foot-5 fighter can still make a comeback. Marc Anthony Reyes