Orlando Salido Recovers and Returns
By Steve Kim, MaxBoxing (July 26, 2012) Doghouse Boxing
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On the night of March 10th, Orlando Salido participated in probably the best prizefight of 2012. Once again, having to go to the island of Puerto Rico, he faced Juan Manuel Lopez in a rematch of their entertaining scrap from the previous year. This time around, “JuanMa” was in much better condition and able to absorb much more from the hardnosed Mexican while dishing out his own fair share of leather. He actually floored Salido in the fifth before the defending WBO featherweight king slowly wore him down. After a pulsating ninth frame (See video embeded on this page), Salido finally subdued the Puerto Rican star at the beginning of the tenth.
 
“Siri” had done it again but it came at a heavy price. Heavy, dark bruising underlined both eyes. This was a hard-fought victory, the kind that can shorten a career- even in victory. This Saturday night, he gets back into it, facing Moises Gutierrez in Tepit, Nayarit, Mexico.
 
“I only took a couple of weeks off for everything to go down, the swelling, the soreness, everything,” said Salido through Top Rank publicist Ricardo Jimenez last week. “But it was a tough fight; I definitely felt his punches more than the first time. I knew he was going to be well-prepared; that's why I knew I had to be well-prepared.” He admits that from a physical perspective, the rematch with Lopez was the most taxing he has ever been through. “I felt it was the most competitive fight I've been in and he's one of the strongest guys I've faced.”
 
The arduous journey of Salido is well-documented (http://www.maxboxing.com/news/max-boxing-news/the-baddest-sumbitch-in-the-game); it's been a long road for the fighter who lived in a house with dirt floors and was forced to turn professional several months before his 16th birthday. While there are a lot of miles on the odometer, he feels he's just reaching his apex as a prizefighter.
 
“Without a doubt,” he stated. “I feel that I'm at my peak right now. That's why I want to face the best and see what I can do against the best. I think I'm capable against anybody at this weight.” 
 
After years of journeyman status and living in the considerable shadows of Marco Antonio Barrera, Erik Morales and Juan Manuel Marquez, Salido has now carved out his own niche among boxing fans who are appreciative of his no-nonsense, blue-collar style. Like a recently retired Glen Johnson, he did it the hard way and the public seems to have embraced that.
 
“I feel like the fans are aware of who I am, even the press; everyone is more aware of who I am and what I'm capable of doing,” says Salido, who is 31 years old and has been a pro fighter for over half his life. “And that's very nice; it makes me feel good.” However, don't expect complacency to set in. Guys who grew up in the conditions he did will always be hungry to a certain degree. “I'm finally getting my just due, not only from the fans but from the Mexican press. It's important to get all the recognition for everything that you've done and I'm still hungry because I want more. I know how hard I fought to get here, so I do know how hungry I have to be to stay here.”
 
Salido should have a relatively easy time versus Gutierrez. This wasn't designed to be anything more than just a stay-busy affair and it's not even clear on BoxRec (http://boxrec.com/list_bouts.php?human_id=43998&cat=boxer) if this is a title fight or not (one can only assume since it’s a 10-rounder that it’s a non-title outing). That said, back in December when he faced the lightly regarded Weng Haya, Salido was dumped hard to the canvas twice before scoring an eighth round stoppage. A loss would have put his rematch with “JuanMa” in jeopardy. “The way I look at it, every fight is important. Everything I've gained can go bad in one night. So I'm motivated because I know I need to keep winning because I do want bigger fights and I do want bigger names,” said Salido.
 
At stake could be a showdown with rising contender Mikey Garcia in a fight that could take place in the fall on HBO or even on the undercard of Manny Pacquiao's next outing. Garcia is scheduled to be on this show this weekend.
 
“I know [Garcia]’s an undefeated fighter; he's a tall guy for that division and I know he's a very good boxer,” Salido said of his potential foe, “but the way I look at it, he hasn't faced nearly the competition that I've faced, the opponents that I've had in my career. He certainly doesn't have the experience to fight a guy like me and that's the way I look at it. It'll be interesting to see what he can do with me more than I can do with him.”
 
More of Steve's recent work below his contact info...
Steve can be reached at k9kim@yahoo.com and he tweets (and enjoys “Competitive Tweeting”) at www.twitter.com/stevemaxboxing. We also have a Facebook fan page at www.facebook.com/MaxBoxing.

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