Froilan Saludar (left) and Luis Nery (right) strike a pose during their pre-fight presser in Mexico. | Photo from Zanfer Promotions
CEBU CITY, Philippines—Former world title challenger Froilan “Sniper” Saludar will try to stage an upset in hostile shores as he takes on former world champion Luis “Pantera” Nery in Metepec, Mexico on July 8 (July 9 Manila Time).
Saludar, the older brother of former World Boxing Association (WBA) and World Boxing Organization (WBO) mini flyweight champion Vic Saludar, will fight in Mexico for the first time.
However, this opportunity comes with a hefty challenge as he takes on Nery, who is known to have defeated many Filipino boxers.
Nery, 28, of Tijuana, Mexico is a well-known Filipino tormentor in the ring.
Nery defeated six Filipino boxers throughout his storied career. He defeated Jether Jether Oliva, John Mark Apolinario, Richie Mepranum, Raymond Tabugon, Arthur Villanueva, and Jason Canoy Manigos.
His toughest bout was against Villanueva in 2017 after he was downed in the fourth round, but went on winning a sixth round stoppage. However, the result was hounded with controversy after Villanueva’s camp cried foul for the premature stoppage from the referee.
Currently, Nery, a former World Boxing Council (WBC) world super bantamweight champion has a record of 34 wins with 26 knockouts and a single defeat.
Meanwhile, Saludar, 34, of Polomolok, South Cotabato, has a 33-6-1 (win-loss) record with 23 knockouts.
He recently won against fellow Filipino Crison Omayao via a first round technical knockout to bounce back from his back-to-back defeats in 2022 and 2021.
Saludar lost to Andrew Moloney for the WBO Oriental super flyweight title in December 2021, and went on losing to Japanese Daigo Higa in Ota City last July 2022.
/bmjo
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