Filipino flyweight Saludar being fast tracked to world title shot

With Manny Pacquiao, Nonito Donaire Jr., Brian Viloria and Donnie Nietes enjoying world title success, another young Filipino upstart is steadily making a move towards a championship of his own. Froilan "The Sniper" Saludar—a 22-year-old find from General Santos City, Philippines with a 12-0-1 (nine knockouts) record—will face Japan-based Pinoy Gabriel Pumar in a 12-round bout on August 6 at the Island Cove Hotel and Leisure Park in Kawit, Cavite. Saludar's promoter Sammy Gello-ani and international matchmaker Sampson Lewkowicz say that, should Saludar emerge victorious, he will fight an International Boxing Federation (IBF) eliminator for the vacant number two position in September, with a final eliminator for the number one spot coming either at the end of the year or the early 2012. Saludar, whose brothers Rey and Victorio are members of the Philippine national boxing team, is currently ranked 13th by the New Jersey-based organization. "The good news is that Saludar will fight very soon in an elimination bout," said Lewkowicz, who is in Mexico accompanying middleweight champion Sergio Martinez. The IBF's current flyweight champion is Moruthi Mthalane of South Africa with the 28-year-old holding a 27-2 record (18 KOs). Mthalane unsuccessfully challenged Nonito Donaire in 2008, but stopped another of Gello-ani's fighters Johnriel Casimero in his most recent defense in March. The IBF's championships chairman Lindsay E. Tucker confirmed that he received a request from Lewkowicz Wednesday afternoon to have Saludar and the #14 contender Ronald Barrera fight for the number two spot on the basis that they were two of the top five available contenders. Tucker says that he hasn't yet confirmed the availability of the other contenders ranked above Saludar and Barrera. Tucker says that, in the event of them being among the top five available contenders, an elimination bout for the number two spot could be approved. Barrera, age 26 of Barranquilla, Colombia, has a record of 29-8-2 (18 KOs) and has challenged unsuccessfully for a world title five times against the likes of Ivan Calderon and Omar Nino Romero. He is the brother of another world champion—not Marco Antonio—but former IBF minimumweight champ Miguel Barrera. Should the IBF approve the elimination bout, Gello-ani said he would like to stage it on September 17 at the Resorts World Hotel and Casino in Pasay City, Metro Manila, Philippines. Gello-ani already has 18-1 (17 KOs) lightweight prospect Anthony Marcial penciled in for that date. Gello-ani feels that the step-up in competition is necessary for Saludar because none of the opponents he has been matched against recently have tested his resolve or stamina. Saludar has stopped his previous six opponents following a technical draw caused by a clash of heads in the first round of his match with Brian Diano last year. Still, Lewkowicz said that they are keeping their options open, and that Saludar isn't "married" to any of the sanctioning bodies as of yet. Lewkowicz added, "Saludar will take whichever world title opportunity is presented to him first." Saludar is ranked as high as number four with the WBO and his ranking could improve if he annexes the vacant WBO Asia Pacific title, which will be on the line against Pumar. "The manager and promoter is grooming him and giving him the credential of winning these regional [belts] and trying to maintain his credibility in the world ranks," said Leon P. Panoncillo, Jr., the WBO's Asia Pacific chairman who will supervise the Saludar-Pumar fight. "The other three organizations will eventually look at Saludar as one of the hot prospects in Asia and will probably rank him accordingly in their rankings, also." Panoncillo says that Saludar's Filipino promoter Sammy Gello-ani has informed him that he would like to "give way to [Brian] Viloria as WBO flyweight champ" until the belt changes hands, wherein Saludar would make a move to face the new champion. "For now, Gello-ani informed that he would want to give Saludar as much experience as he needs before taking on any world champion in the future," said Panoncillo. "It's a good direction for the Filipino promoter to plan ahead for Saludar." — JVP, GMA News Ryan Songalia is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA) and contributes to GMA News and the Filipino Reporter newspaper in New York City. He can be reached at ryan@ryansongalia.com. An archive of his work can be found at www.ryansongalia.com. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/ryansongalia.