REYMART Soledad suffered the first setback of his budding career after a first-round stoppage at the hands of Chinese Balihenbeke Balihenbeke in a World Boxing Organization Oriental super-lightweight bout last Aug. 1, 2026, at the Grand Ho Tram in Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam.
The 25-year-old Soledad started out aggressively and landed a couple of good shots, including a left to the head of Balihenbeke that stunned him for a moment.
The tides quickly changed as Balihenbeke landed a counter right that rocked Soledad. Balihenbeke continued to unleash a series of punches that dropped Soledad.
Soledad bounced back up instead of backing up to regain his senses; he pushed on and traded blows with Balihenbeke.
The 22-year-old Chinese landed some vicious punch combinations that hurt Soledad and sent him to the canvas again.
This time, the referee felt that Soledad wasn’t fit to continue and waved it off at the 1:40 mark of the opening round.
Soledad suffered his first career loss and fell to 8-1 with six knockouts, while Balihenbeke remained unbeaten at 9-0 with six knockouts.
Meanwhile, former world champion Vic Saludar made quick work of his 18-year-old Thai opponent, Watchanachai Thasai, with an impressive first round knockout.
The 35-year-old Saludar sent Thasai to the floor with a solid right straight to the midsection.
Thasai stood up, but not for long, as Saludar connected with a vicious left hook to the jaw that ended the night at the 2:12 mark of the first round.
Saludar continued his hot streak at seven straight wins and moved up to 28-6 with 18 knockouts, while Thasai dropped to 6-3 with three knockouts.
Saludar is now waiting for an opportunity to face WBO and World Boxing Association (WBA) minimumweight champion Oscar Collazo in a rematch.
Saludar is currently the No. 1 rated boxer by the WBO. He’s also ranked No. 4 by the WBA, No. 10 by the International Boxing Federation (IBF), and No. 12 by the World Boxing Council (WBC). / EKA
