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Friday, May 26, 2000
Salud rock solid
Jesus Salud remains
By Dave Reardon
unbeaten in Hawaii with
a third-round TKO
Star-BulletinIt was back to old times for Jesus Salud.
It was back to the canvas for his opponent, Boyke Sillehu.
About 2,500 watched Salud dominate Sillehu last night at Blaisdell Arena. He knocked down the Indonesian three times in less than three rounds to remain unbeaten in 35 professional boxing matches in Hawaii.
Referee Abe Pacheco called the fight with 28 seconds left in the third, after Salud peppered Sillehu with sustained combinations to the ribs.
"I feel he was taking too much punishment, he wasn't fighting back," Pacheco said.
The veteran official made many similar calls in Salud fights in the '80s and early '90s, as the Waipahu-trained boxer from Nanakuli built the foundation of a career that would take him to a world title and a new home in San Diego.
Many other familiar faces from the past surrounded Salud last night, including former stablemate Paul Lucas (now a police officer) and trainer Al Silva.
But even at 37, Salud (61-9) looks toward the future and another shot at the title.
"I still believe in my ability," Salud said. "I hadn't fought in a year, but I didn't feel rusty."
He certainly didn't look out of tune. While Salud is not as quick as he was in the '80s, he seems stronger.
Salud rocked Sillehu (24-5-1) several times, most notably with a flooring left hook to the head 23 seconds into the fight.
"Oh, that first punch," Silva marveled. "When he went down, I knew Jesus had additional power."Salud hurt Sillehu with another big right 17 seconds before the end of the first, setting the stage for a flurry of scoring shots nearly to the bell.
Sillehu connected with a right to Salud's head midway through the second round, but Salud countered immediately with scoring jabs and a sharp right, left combination to the head at 55 seconds to the bell.
Then, with eight seconds left, Salud knocked down Sillehu again with another big right hook.
Before Pacheco called it in the third, Salud knocked down Sillehu a third time, with a right set up by a left jab at 1:47.
Salud's current trainer, Abe Sanchez, said he was pleased overall.
"We wanted to go back to where Jesus was three or four years ago. He'd become complacent," Sanchez said. "We don't like him to sit and react. We want him to make (the opponent) react. I won't say it was an 'A' fight, but he did a lot of good things.
"We wanted some rounds, and the kid gave him some rounds," Sanchez added. "There's two guys in there, so (Salud's) gonna get hit."
Sillehu and his trainer said they should have had the opportunity to hit the favorite son longer.
"This guy was going to knock Salud out," trainer Felix Cazeres said. "The fight was definitely stopped too soon."
Sillehu has won 19 of his fights by knockout, including a May 13 stop of WBO Intercontinental bantamweight (118 pounds) champion Don Don Concepcion at the Sheraton Waikiki.
"I could keep fighting," said Sillehu, who was visibly nervous before the bout. "I knew I hurt him."
Salud acknowledged that Sillehu landed the one good shot, but said it didn't bother him long.
"The ref did a good job," he said. "He wasn't protecting himself or throwing punches. He was just winging from the outside, and I was very patient."
QUICK JABS:
In a co-main event, Andy Tabanas (40-4-1) TKO'd Agus Ray (25-10-4) in the fifth round for the WBO Asia-Pacific Junior Flyweight title ... In the prelims, Mike Jamison (6-0) decisioned John Lopez (5-4), Mark Burse (4-0) TKO'd Pablo Ontiberos (4-11) in the second, Tali Kulihaapai (7-0) TKO'd Gene Valdez (0-2) in the first, and Clay Lewis (1-0) decisioned Jaime Bretado (3-8) ... U.S. Olympic boxing team member Brian Viloria of Waipahu attended last night's matches. He returns to Colorado Springs, Colo., on June 4 to train for USA vs. Ukraine matches June 19 in Dallas. Then he comes back to Hawaii for two weeks before returning to Colorado.
