Filipino boxer Saludar bows to Japanese foe via 6th-round KO

Champion Kosei Tanaka (L) of Japan lands his left upper on Vic Saludar (R) of Philippines during the WBO minimum weight title match in Nagoya in Aichi prefecture, central Japan on December 31, 2015. AFP PHOTO / JIJI PRESS JAPAN OUT / AFP / JIJI PRESS / JIJI PRESS

Filipino Vic Saludar had his winning run ending to a screeching halt after suffering a sixth-round stoppage to Japanese champion Kosei Tanaka for the WBO world minimumweight title on Thursday at Aichi Prefectural Gym in Nagoya, Japan.

It was a sorry setback for Saludar, who couldn’t recover after taking a left hook to the body from Tanaka at the 2:15 mark of the sixth round.

Saludar had the momentum going in his way after decking the 20-year-old Tanaka in the fifth and was on the attack before getting drilled with the killer blow.

The loss snapped the 25-year-old Saludar’s nine straight victory streak as his record dropped to 11-2, with nine knockouts while Tanaka improved to 6-0 with half of his victories via KO.