By: Sergio L. Martinez
When will promoters and matchmakers learn?
Mexican ruffian Orlando “Siri” Salido is not the type of fighter you want to add on a resume unless you’re sure that your charge is ready for the depths of hell. For as vulnerable as the Sonora, Mexico native appears to be due to his limited boxing skills, he is a true beast that is relentless and has recently sustained his career by taking young men into deep waters and drowning them.
Photo: Chris Farina/Top Rank
How else does a fighter with eleven losses including five by knockout stay relevant in the sport?
Salido’s professional resume – which dates back to 1996 – shows that he is a fighter who has taken on all comers and has faced multiple current and former world champions. The likes of Rogelio Tuur, Alejandro Gonzalez, Juan Manuel Marquez, Cesar Soto, Cristobal Cruz, Robert Guerrero, Yuriorkis Gamboa, and Juan Manuel Lopez are some of the big names that adorn Salido’s record and he has tallied five wins, four losses and one no contest with two wins coming by way of knockout against these elite fighters.
Salido also went the distance in his four losses, proving that he is tough as nails and is able to take as good as he gives. However, there is the specter of a positive PED test hanging over Salido’s career which came after his title winning effort against Robert Guerrero; though Salido has tested negative for performance enhancers ever since.
This coming Saturday, Salido faces yet another young stud who will attempt to add validity to his own resume by defeating the Mexican. Undefeated Oxnard, California native Miguel Angel “Mikey” Garcia and his brain trust have decided that the young boxing phenomenon is ready to face Salido.
In Garcia’s case, he comes from a very prominent boxing family, has his brother Robert in his corner and has certainly shown great skills, natural ability and solid punching power; Garcia has registered twenty-seven knockouts in thirty fights. He is a patient operator and is capable of adjusting mid-fight; a real “thinking man’s” fighter.
Garcia – who is a counterpuncher by nature – appears to have the perfect style to defeat Salido as he is a straightforward bruiser with a lethal right-hand. Still, the kind of pressure that “Mikey” is sure to experience at the hands of “Siri” is sure to test his mental fortitude. The physicality that is required to defeat Salido will examine Garcia’s physical readiness for the world level.
The fight is sure to be entertaining as Salido is going to do what he always does which will offer Garcia many opportunities to showcase his talent and unload combinations to both the body and the head.
Will Saturday night be the arrival of a new young star to boxing’s world stage? Or will Orlando Salido continue his current winning streak and derail Garcia’s promising career in the process.
The truth will be known this Saturday.
