All-Filipino battle for WBA title eyed in Manila

Vic Saludar of the Philippines (C) celebrates his win over Japan’s Ryuya Yamanaka after their WBO minimumweight title boxing bout in Kobe, Hyogo prefecture on July 13, 2018. (Photo by JIJI PRESS / JIJI PRESS / AFP) 

MANILA, Philippines—A fight between top Filipino strawweights is in the works and the organizers are hoping the WBA sanctions the bout for its 105-pound title.

A fight between Vic Saludar, a former WBA World strawweight champion, and fellow Filipino Robert Paradero is eyed to take place in the Philippines on September 26 at Elorde Sports Center in Parañaque, as per RingTV.com.

Promoter Gabriel “Bobet” Elorde Jr., who handles Paradero, is looking for a WBA go signal for the bout but his hopes of it being a title bout face a major problem.

Julio Thyme, the WBA’s championships committee vice-chairman, said in the report that Knockout CP Freshmart is still the sanctioning body’s Super champion in the division and that the Thai fighter is set for a mandatory defense in October.

RingTV.com also reported that Thyme did not comment on whether the bout between Saludar and Paradero could be considered for the secondary “regular” title.

Saludar (20-4, 11 knockouts) won the WBO World strawweight title when he defeated Ryuya Yamanaka in 2018 and was successful in his first defense with a victory over Masataka Taniguchi with both fights ending in unanimous decision wins for the Filipino.

The 29-year-old from Cotabato del Sur eventually dropped the strap to Wilfredo Mendez in August 2019.

Meanwhile, Paradero (18-0, 12 knockouts) has an impressive undefeated record but he has yet to be tested with all of his fights all happening in the provinces.

Saludar is ranked no.7 in the WBA strawweight ladder while Paradero is at no.10.

The Department of Health, through the Inter-Agency Task Force for Emerging Infectious Diseases, has yet to give guidelines on contact sports amid the COVID-19 pandemic and the Games and Amusements Board require the proper paperwork to hold fight cards in the Philippines.

If a boxing card does get approved, it’s likely that it will be held in a closed-door venue to prevent the further spread of the virus.