Saulong hits weight for title fight

Training is officially over, but Ernesto Saulong is not about to waste time at his hotel room in Tokyo.

Getting permission from his lead trainer, Joven Jimenez, the Filipino challenger sweated it out for nearly an hour at a local gym late Tuesday afternoon.

When the workout was over, Saulong went to the scales and it registered 122 pounds, right on the dot for his International Boxing Federation super bantamweight title duel with Japanese champion Ryosuke Iwasa on Thursday at Ryogoku Sumo Arena.

The 5-foot-7 1/2 Iwasa, 2 inches taller and 3 inches longer than Saulong, is favored to retain the crown owing to his 24-2 record laced with 16 knockouts, including his last four foes.

Saulong holds a 21-2-1 card with eight knockouts. —ROY LUARCA