Luis Nery-Froilan Saludar junior featherweight showdown in Mexico this weekend

Mexican former two-division world champion Luis “Pantera” Nery returns in a 10-round main event against Filipino former title challenger Froilan “The Sniper” Saludar this Saturday, July 8 at Recinto Ferial Metepec in Metepec, Mexico.

The 28-year-old Nery will look to continue his campaign towards another title run in the competitive junior featherweight division.

Promoted by Zanfer Promotions, Nery-Saludar and undercard bouts will stream live and exclusively in the U.S. on ESPN+ starting at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT.

Nery (34-1, 26 KOs) burst onto championship scene in October 2017 with a fourth-round TKO against then-unbeaten champion Shinsuke Yamanaka to capture the WBC bantamweight crown.

Three years later, he defeated Aaron Alameda to win the WBC junior featherweight title via 12-round unanimous decision. Nery suffered his first defeat in a title unification bout versus WBA king Brandon Figueroa in May 2021.

He is 3-0 with two knockouts since the Figueroa loss and is coming off a 11^th-round knockout over former title challenger Azat Hovhannisyan in a Fight of the Year-level battle.

Saludar (33-6-1, 23 KOs) is a 13-year pro who unsuccessfully challenged Sho Kimura for the WBO flyweight title in 2018.

He has given stiff tests to former world champs Andrew Moloney and Daigo Higa.

The 34-year-old is coming off a first-round TKO win over countryman Crison Omayao last October.

In other streaming action from Metepec, Mexico:

• Junior welterweight standout Carlos Sanchez (24-1, 19 KOs) will take on Marcos Gonzalez (22-3, 11 KOs) in a 10-round clash. Both are coming off April wins, with Sanchez beating Alexander
• Alexander Duran via six-round technical decision and Gonzalez defeating Josue Veraza via 10-round unanimous decision.
• In a 10-round junior middleweight fight, Jorge Garcia Perez (25-4, 21 KOs) will square off against Ricardo Bañuelos (18-9-1, 7 KOs). Both fought on the same card last month. Perez scored a seventh-round knockout win over Hector Andres Reyes, while Bañuelos lost to Mexican Olympian Misael Rodriguez via eight-round unanimous decision.
• Rashib Martinez (20-2-1, 9 KOs) will face Ernesto Garcia Flores (10-2, 9 KOs) in an eight-round bantamweight tilt.
• In a swing bout, flyweights Luis Rodriguez (8-3, 3 KOs) and Juan Carlos Barrientos (5-2, 3 KOs) will collide in a fight scheduled for four or six rounds.

Credit: Top Rank Boxing