South Cotabato’s Vic “Vicious” Saludar is widely known as a regular fixture in the under card of ALA Promotions’s popular Pinoy Pride series. That may end soon.
This after the 24-year-old former Palarong Pambansa medalist was contracted to see action in the biggest fight of his career as he challenges for the WBO world minimum-weight title against Japanese champion Kosei Tanaka on Dec. 31 in Nagoya, Japan.
Saludar, who is the current WBO Asia-Pacific minimum-weight champion is the younger brother of WBO Intercontinental flyweight king Froilan “Sniper” Saludar. He won the vacant WBO AsPac belt when he beat Rizky Pratama in Cotabato last September. That win gave Saludar the world title shot against Tanaka.
Saludar is on a nine-fight winning streak following his loss to Powell Balaba in Cagayan de Oro City two years ago. He is an amateur standout who won gold medals in national competitions and was a bronze medalist in the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games. He is the youngest of three boxing brothers that include Froilan and national amateur team mainstay Rey.
Tanaka who sports a record of five wins with two knockouts won the vacant WBO world minimum-weight title when he dominated Julian Yedras of Mexico last May 30, in Japan en route to a unanimous-decision victory.