BOXING fans are in for a treat this weekend with a rare all-Filipino world championship fight in the country.
Unbeaten prospect Samuel Salva trades leathers with one-time world title challenger Pedro Taduran for the vacant International Boxing Federation (IBF) minimumweight crown in the main event of an MP Promotions-promoted show on Saturday, Sept. 7, 2019, at the Jurado Hall of the Philippine Marine Corp in Taguig City.
This is just the second fight since 1925, when the legendary Pancho Villa faced Clever Sencio for the World flyweight belt in Manila, that two Filipinos fought against each other for a world title on the Philippine soil.
This is also the third all-Filipino world championship fight in the past two years. IBF super flyweight king Jerwin Ancajas defended his belt against Jonas Sultan in May last year, followed by a fight between Donnie Nietes and Aston Palicte in September of last year for the vacant World Boxing Organization (WBO) super flyweight title.
The fight of Nietes and Palicte ended in a split draw.
Salva, the No. 1 contender, was supposed to challenge then-IBF champion Deejay Kriel. However, the South African opted to vacate his crown instead of facing Salva here in the Philippines after MP Promotions won the purse bid. Because of that, Salva was ordered by the IBF to fight the highest available fighter, Taduran, who’s ranked No. 3.
The 22-year-old Salva was impressive in his last fight, beating Rene Mark Cuarto by unanimous decision in an IBF title eliminator on March 23, 2019.
Taduran, on the other hand, fought for a world title a year ago, losing to World Boxing Council (WBC) minimumweight king Wanheng Menayothin by unanimous decision. He bounced back with a second round knockout over Jefferey Galero on Dec. 8, 2018.
Salva is 17-0 with 10 knockouts, while the 22-year-old Taduran is 13-2 with 10 knocckouts.
In the main supporting bout, hard-hitting Giemel Magramo (23-1, 19 KOs) takes on former world title contender Komgrich Nantapech (25-5, 16 KOs). (EKA)