By CALVIN CORDOVA
CEBU CITY — Former world champion Vic Saludar needs to be in razor-sharp form if he is to arrest a two-match slide against an opponent who has high regard for him.
Saludar, nicknamed The Vicious, will take on Ariston Aton in the main event of the “Rumble in Naga card slated Wednesday, Dec. 21, at the EAC Center in the City of Naga, southern Cebu.
At stake in the 10-round fight is the vacant Asian Boxing Federation (ABF) minimumweight title.
Saludar, 32, is coming off back-to-back losses, including a controversial defeat to Erick Sosa of Dominican Republic last Dec. 21.
That loss cost Saludar his WBA world minimumweight title.
“I need to win this fight against Aton so I can have a better 2023. I want to get more fights abroad next year,” said Saludar, a native of Polomolok, South Cotabato.
Despite the two straight defeats, Saludar still ranked No. 6 in WBA’s minimumweight division. Scoring a win against Aton will definitely boost his hopes of earning bigger fights next year.
“I prepared hard for this fight. I trained for four months and I feel good. I cannot guarantee a knockout win. All I can say is I will do my best,” said Saludar, who sports a 21W-6L record, including 11 by knockouts.
Aton is likewise seeking to get back on track and is extra motivated to do it against someone he looks up to.
“I idolize him a lot. I want to be like him, I admire his style,” said the 22-year-old Aton, who has dropped his last four fights.
In Tuesday’s weigh-in, Saludar and Aton tipped the scales at 103 and 105 pounds, respectively.
Aton expressed confidence of pulling off a win even if he is up against his idol who has proven himself in the world stage.
“He is my idol, he is a world champion but I am not intimated. I badly need to get this win,” said Aton, who has nine wins in 14 fights.
Ten supporting bouts will spice up the card that is card co-promoted by the city government of Naga, Championship Development Boxing of the Philippines, Prime Stag Sports Promotions and Butlig Promotions.
“This boxing event is one of our goals to bring back sports to the city. We were badly affected by the typhoon Odette and the Covid-19 pandemic but to show that we have recovered, we are hosting various sports activities,” said Naga Mayor Val Chiong.
