Saludar hands season's KO to Llanos, drops foe in 1

IMUS, Cavite—Froilan "The Sniper" Saludar (14-0-1, 11 knockouts) of Polomolok, South Cotabato had no trouble in dispatching late-replacement opponent Nelson Llanos (22-27-3, 9 KOs) of General Santos City, scoring two quick knockdowns en route to a first-round KO win at the Imus Plaza Covered Court in Imus, Cavite. The time of the stoppage was 2:57. The 22-year-old Saludar is the 10th-ranked flyweight by the World Boxing Council (WBC) and ninth in the International Boxing Federation (IBF) list. He will ascend to the World Boxing Organization's (WBO) number 1 position next month Sauldar was returning to the ring for the first time since August after taking a four-month break to deal with the death of his newborn son. Llanos, who holds a victory over former world title challenger Juanito Rubillar, failed to capitalize any ring rust by Saludar as he fought defensively from the opening bell. The first knockdown came around the two-minute mark when Llanos collapsed seemingly out of intimidation following a Saludar combination. Llanos rose at the count of eight but seemed to be looking for a way out of the fight. Less than a minute later he took advantage of a body shot from Saludar to remain on his knee for the 10-count. "I expected Llanos to last more rounds, but I was surprised," said Sammy Gello-ani, who promoted the card in association with Sampson LLC Promotions and Imus Mayor Homer Saquilayan. "Maybe because he just arrived Friday, he's not so well prepared for this fight." "I prepared for 10 rounds because I didn't think it would be an early night," said Saludar, who returns to his wife and son in Davao Saturday morning for the holidays. Despite Saludar's insistence on facing WBO flyweight champion and compatriot Brian Viloria, Gello-ani says he will weigh his options, which may include an elimination bout to become the mandatory challenger to IBF flyweight champion Moruti Mthalane of South Africa. Gello-ani says that Saludar's next assignment will be in March against Alejandro Morales (13-1, 7 KOs) of Los Mochis, Mexico, either in Cavite or Cebu. Earlier in the evening, 19-year-old super flyweight prospect Jerwin Ancajas (13-0-1, 5 KO) of Cavite City turned in an impressive performance against  journeyman Rodel Quilaton (24-20-3, 8 KOs) of Mandaluyong City, winning a 10-round unanimous decision by the scores of 100-90, 99-92 and 96-94. Quilaton's competent challenge enabled Ancajas to show his considerable technical prowess and mature fighting ability, if underscoring his glaring lack of serious punching power. Ancajas boxed from the outside behind a strong jab, traded uppercuts in close range, showed off his defensive posturing and displayed a strong chin when he needed to. The most entertaining round of the fight came in the fourth when both men squared their shoulders and traded uppercuts to the delight of the crowd. Ancajas, needing a breather at the end of the round, retreated to the ropes and showed off his version of the Floyd Mayweather shoulder roll defense to good effect. Quilaton tried it out himself moments later, with less success. Ancajas is rated 13th by the WBO and will return on the undercard of Saludar's next bout. Other results For two rounds Sarangani-born super flyweight John Mark Apolinario chased and stalked fleet-footed Michael Escobia around the ring. When there was nowhere left to run, Escobia and trainer jumped out of the ring and continued running to the backstage area in the direction of the restrooms. The stunned crowd laughed and giggled at the sight, which effectively began the career resumption of Apolinario, the former WBO Oriental super flyweight champion who returned following a year-long layoff after drawing with unheralded Armando Casa last November. Apolinario, now 17-2-1 (4 KOs), worked effectively to the body and head of Escobia, who is now 5-3 as a professional. In the light flyweight division, Joan Imperial (9-0-3, 4 KO) of Muntinlupa City maintained his unbeaten record with a second round knockout of Julius Agcopra (9-34-2, 4 KO). The time of the knockout was 2:40. Agcopra has now lost 20 times by knockout, an astonishing statistic in itself. — JVP, GMA News Ryan Songalia is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA) and contributes to GMANews.TV and the Filipino Reporter newspaper. From January through April, he will cover the Daily News Golden Gloves tournament for the New York Daily News. He can be reached at ryan@ryansongalia.com . An archive of his work can be found atwww.ryansongalia.com . Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/ryansongalia.