Wednesday, February 25, 1998
By Dennis Oda, Star-Bulletin
Jesus Salud, right, lands a hard left to the head of Kris
Wuritimur during last night's fight at the Blaisdell Arena.
Victory keeps Salud
unbeaten in Hawaii
He stops Kris Wuritimur
By Paul Arnett
in the fifth round
Star-BulletinJesus Salud can still push those buttons.
Just ask Indonesian fighter Kris Wuritimur after he took a short right hand to the chin from Salud. The power-packed punch landed on the button in the fifth round of last night's World Boxing Organization Asia-Pacific junior featherweight title bout.
Try as he might, Wuritimur couldn't right himself in the time it took referee Abe Pacheco to give the standing eight count.
As Wuritimur wobbled to the ropes, Pacheco motioned for the 122-pound fighter to move toward him. When he didn't respond, Pacheco waved him off, giving Salud his 58th pro victory 2:53 into the fifth round.
"We traded right hands, but my right hand landed first," said Salud, who is 58-9-2. "I hit him right on the tip of his chin.
"I knew he wasn't going to get up because of the way he fell. He fell on his face. And when somebody falls like that, most of the time, they won't come up.
"He was really tough. He took some big right hands in the forehead. I was surprised that he took a lot of shots like that."
Wuritimur fell to 17-5. He played the clown several times after Salud landed solid shots to the head in the first four rounds. He did a little dance and pretended to be punch-drunk.
He also backed up Salud in the third round with a succession of uppercuts to the former Nanakuli resident's chin. But Salud remained patient, kept shooting his jabs and waiting for an opening.
"Jesus is a very young 34-year-old boxer who is still willing to learn," trainer David Love said. "He is starting to set up everything with his jab.
By Dennis Oda, Star-Bulletin
Salud is announced the winner after a fifth-round knockout
by referee Abe Pacheco, left, and Leon Panoncillo.
"All the punches started opening up for him off the jab -- left uppercut inside, hooks to the body and head, overhand right. It was all there for him."Jesus is excited about growing as a boxer. Learning is hard for anybody, especially a fighter with his experience. But he's learning to be more patient and not just looking for that one big punch. Instead, he's trying to set guys up for the big punch with the jab."
Salud celebrated the victory by running around the ring, jumping up on the corner ropes and raising his arms to the 1,500 spectators gathered at Blaisdell Arena.
It was the 34th knockout for Salud, who is 33-0 lifetime in Hawaii. He will return to San Diego in two days. Manager Bobby DePhilippis said he is looking to get Salud a fight in May or June.
"We have a couple of things working, but we won't know anything until after (World Boxing Council champion) Erik Morales' next fight," DePhilippis said. "If he wins, then we might get a shot.
"Scott Woodsworth of the WBC, somebody we have been associated with before, is trying to work on a deal with HBO (Boxing After Dark) where Morales would fight Jesus in Tijuana."
The victory assures Salud -- No. 6 in the current WBC ratings -- of being in the top 10 in the next WBO rankings, which could open some doors as well.
"I still believe I can be world champion again," the former World Boxing Association titleholder said. "Something may come open this summer. We'll see.
"As long as my family and friends say I've still got it, I'm going to keep on going. If my mom tells me it's time to hang it up, then I'll hang it up."
The undercard
160 pounds: Jaime Lerma (24-6) won a unanimous decision over Augustine Renteria (16-11) in a 10-round fight.
