GAB-7 OIC Jimmy Donton (right) and referee Romar Embodo (left) raise the hands of Vic Saludar after the latter won via a 7th-round knockout of Ariston Aton in the main event of “Rumble in Naga” on Wednesday night. | Photo from Edito Villamor
CEBU CITY, Philippines –Former world champion Vic “Vicious” Saludar snatched the Asian Boxing Federation (ABF) minimum weight title via an impressive seventh-round knockout of Ariston Aton in the main event of the “Rumble in Naga” card on Wednesday evening, December 21, 2022.
The 32-year-old Saludar, the former WBA world minimumweight champion landed a perfectly-timed uppercut to the midsection of Aton, sending the latter down to his knees to the delight of the crowd which packed the Enan Chiong Activity Center (ECAC) in the City of Naga, south Cebu.
Referee Romar Embodo immediately did the mandatory count as Aton grimaced in pain while holding on to the ropes.
Aton failed to beat Embodo’s count, as Saludar improved to 22 wins with 12 knockouts and six defeats.
It was Saludar’s first victory since July this year when he lost to Oscar Collazo of the United States in their non-title bout held in Los Angeles, California.
Before the knockout, Saludar already imposed his presence in the earlier rounds by landing the more telling blows against Aton.
Aton didn’t back down and answered every punch Saludar threw and even inflicted a cut on the latter’s right eyebrow in the third round via a right uppercut.
Saludar, however, retaliated in the next round by knocking down Aton with a right hook. Aton recovered and continued to fight until the seventh-round knockout came.
Aton dropped to a 9-6 (win-loss) record with five knockouts.
In the co-main event, Speedy Boy Acope of Butlig Boxing Promotions scored an impressive first-round knockout against Jhonrey Lauza.
Acope only needed 31 seconds to brush aside Lauza with a flurry of unanswered combinations that made the latter quit.
The fight card was co-promoted by the city government of Naga, Championship Development Boxing of the Philippines, Prime Stag Sports Promotions, and Butlig Promotions. /rcg
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Vic Saludar vs Ariston Aton in ‘Rumble in Naga’
Saludar-Aton headline Rumble in Naga this Wednesday