TWO brothers. Two boxers. One dream.
The waiting is almost over as Rey Saludar and his brother, Victorio III, will climb the ring at last in their first-ever Asian Games set on November 12 to 27 in Guangzhou, China.
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Both were born in Maligo, Polomolok, South Cotabato where Coach Ramon Vicente discovered their keen interest and potentials in boxing.
“I started boxing in 2001. My brother and I used to practice at home since we still didn’t have an official coach. It was our father who taught us to box. We eventually learned the proper way of punching until we met Coach Ramon,” the 22-year-old Rey said in the vernacular during an e-mail interview.
Victorio, 19, fondly called as Jar-Jar, said it was in 2003 that Coach Ramon brought them for training in Kapalong, Davao del Norte where the latter was hired as head coach.
The younger Saludar, in text messages, said, “We stayed in Kapalong until September 2005 but the lack of support in our former team prompted us to join the Barangay Una boxing team in Panabo City. Without the help of Barangay Una boxing team, I would have not made it to the national team.”
While Jar-Jar joined the RP national boxing team only last March, Rey was enlisted to the elite squad way ahead on August 24, 2006.
Their father, Victorio Jr., is a farmer while their mother, Vevincia, manages their household.
Rey said, “I’m so happy that I’ll be playing in the Asian Games for the first time. I’m just focused on our training. I’ll do whatever our coach tells us to do and be disciplined.”
“I’m not sure of winning a gold in Guangzhou ‘coz other boxers going there are also aiming the same thing. We may be trained and ready to fight but so are those other boxers from other countries. But I’ll do my best to win the gold. We have been training every day,” Jar-Jar added.
Rey is seeing action in the flyweight division while Jar-Jar is entered in the light flyweight event.
The Saludar brothers along with featherweight Charly Suarez light welterweight Delfin Boholst and welterweight Wilfredo Lopez will test their mettle in the Tammer Cup Tournament in Finland on October 13 to 17 as part of their preparations for the Guangzhou Games.
They were set to hold sparring sessions at Manny Pacquiao’s gym in Baguio City as of Saturday.
Rey and Jar-Jar, however, are going to the Games armed with a handful of medals and achievements.
Rey won gold medals in separate tournaments held in San Francisco and Los Angeles, California, United States of America in August this year.
He won gold in the National Open Amateur Boxing Championships 2009 on top of other silver and bronze finishes in past nationals. He captured a bronze in the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games held in Vientianne, Laos last year.
In 2008, he took silver and bronze medals in a couple of tournament in Cuba following his silver in The Great Silk Road Tournament in 2007.
