TWO days from now, Samuel Salva hopes to be in the company of well-known stablemate Jerwin Ancajas.
Salva takes on Pedro Taduran in a historic world title fight for the vacant International Boxing Federation (IBF) minimumweight crown on Saturday at the Philippine Marine Corp. in Taguig.
Both 22, Salva and Taduran vowed to give it their best shot in the first all-Filipino world championship showdown in the country in the last 94 years, since Pancho Villa retained his world flyweight crown in 1925 by beating Clever Sencio at Wallace Field, Manila (now Rizal Park).
Nicknamed ‘Silent Assassin,’ Salva is looking to stretch his unbeaten record and join Ancajas, the reigning IBF super-flyweight titleholder, as the next world champion under the Survival Camp stable.
“Masayang mag-train ka na may kasama kang champion. Parang mai-inspire ka sa kanya,” said the soft-spoken native of Gingoog, Misamis Oriental during the official presser for the 12-round bout presented by Manny Pacquiao (MP) Promotions, on Thursday also at the Asero Hall inside the Philippine Marine base.
Handled by Ancajas trainer Joven Jimenez, Salva carries a perfect 17-0 record, including 10 KOs. He earned the right to vie for the IBF crown after scoring a unanimous decision win over Rene Mark Cuarto in a title eliminator bout last March.
He has not stop since then preparing for the biggest fight of his career.
“Handa akong magtagumpay. Lamang ako sa istilo at sa bilis,” he said.
It’s not going to be a walk in the park for the unbeaten Salva, though.
Taduran has experience going for him, having fought for a world crown in 2018 but losing by unanimous decision against undefeated World Boxing Council (WBC) 105-lb. champion Chayaphon Moonsri of Thailand. The win was the 50th career victory for the 33-year-old Thai.
“Parehas kaming nag-ensayo, parehas namin gustong manalo,” he said. “Tingin ko kaya kong manalo.”
Taduran, the reigning Philippine minimumweight champion, holds a record of 13-2 with 10 KOs. A southpaw, he hails from Libon, Albay.
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