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By Anson Wainwright
The best laid plans are often go awry when one looks too far into the future while ignoring the present. In boxing, this can be particularly dangerous. Last weekend, that was almost the case in Ciudad Obregon, Mexico where hometown favourite Orlando ?Siri? Salido met journeyman Weng Haya in a non-title bout. It was expected that Salido would have an easy time showcasing his skills whilst sharpening his tools before heading back to Puerto Rico for the highly anticipated rematch with Juan Manuel Lopez. It proved to be anything but easy with Salido hitting the deck hard in the third only to be saved by the bell. He was dropped again in the fourth round before gathering himself, refocusing and finally stopping Haya in the eighth. Now, Salido, 31, can prepare himself for bigger business with Lopez in a fight that has a working date of 31 March. In April, Salido shocked the boxing world when, as a heavy underdog, he travelled to Puerto Rico and stunningly stopped Lopez in eight rounds to claim the WBO featherweight crown on Showtime in one of the true surprises of the year. Since then, he?s successfully made one defence, turning back the challenge of brave Japanese challenger Kenichi Yamaguchi over the summer. The seasoned Mexican veteran sports a relatively average 37-11-2 (25) record, so, ?Siri? is like a Mexican Glen Johnson. Salido is the current poster boy for fighters with mediocre records, busting the myth of the undefeated record, proving it only means so much.
Anson Wainwright – You beat Weng Haya in a non-title fight. It was much tougher than anticipated. You were down twice and had to battle back. Can you tell us about the fight and also the knockdowns?
Orlando Salido – Weng is a very tough, underrated boxer who got the opportunity to fight a champion and made the most of it. Perhaps I got overconfident, probably looking ahead too much to the rematch with Juan Manuel Lopez, and I almost paid a serious price for that. Weng was an excellent test for me. I never saw the first knockdown punch. It came as I was throwing a hook and he hit me with a perfect counter hook. My head wasn?t completely clear at the start of the next round and Weng got me again but this time, it was more of a flash knockdown. Again, I salute my brave opponent. I wish him well in the future.
AW ? That fight took place in front of your hometown fans in Ciudad Obregon. Can you tell us what it means to you to fight in front of your people? Is that added pressure?
OS ? No, fighting at home motivates me to look good and put on a good show for the fans of Ciudad Obregon. I don?t feel any added pressure.
AW – It has been mentioned that in the first quarter of 2012, you may face Juan Manuel Lopez in a rematch. What are your thoughts on that fight?
OS – The fight will be on Mar 31 in Puerto Rico. I am very excited for the second fight. I want to prove that it was not luck and I was the better fighter in the first fight. I read ?JuanMa? Lopez making a lot of excuses why he lost the first fight like he had problems with his wife and his training was not proper. Well, on March 31 on Showtime I will leave him no excuses this time other than I am the better fighter and the best fighter at 126 pounds.
AW – The first fight with ?JuanMa? Lopez is probably your best fight and moment in boxing. Looking back on that fight, can you tell us about how things were for you going into the fight from your camp and how you managed to put on such a great performance?
OS ? First, going into the fight, I went back to what got me to the top in the first place. That was back to my trainers Santos Moreno and Victor Barron. For the fight with [Yuriorkis] Gamboa, I tried out Daniel Zaragoza and training in Mexico City. I have nothing against Zaragoza but I did not feel comfortable training in Mexico City. So I went to Santos Moreno?s gym in Nogales, Mexico and had a great camp. Also, in looking at the record of ?JuanMa? Lopez, I felt I was fighting the better competition of fighter and he was knocking out B-class fighters and that I had 11 losses but I have learned a lot from them and I knew if I got through the first few rounds, ?JuanMa? was mine.
AW – Could you tell us about your team and where you train?
OS – My manager is Sean Gibbons, trainers are Santos Moreno and Victor Barron. I train at [various] gyms when I am preparing for a fight. First, in Nogales, Mexico at the gym of my trainer, Santos Moreno (Destroyer Gym), and in Ciudad Obregon at Arena Osuna. When preparing for a fight, I run Monday to Friday each day for 45 minutes and on Saturday for one hour. My sparring is done every day, Monday through Saturday for six to eight rounds for a total of about 200 rounds for an eight-week camp. My diet consists of a lot of fish, chicken, beans and vitamins. I drink lots of water, Crystal Light and Diet Coke.
AW ? Going back to your younger days, can you tell us about your life growing up in Ciudad Obregon? How tough were things for you back then?
OS – Growing up was very difficult for me. My family was very poor and when I was 13 years old, my father passed away. Then one day, I was away at school and came home to find out my mother was gone. She left to marry another guy and left without saying goodbye. I, along with my sister, was left in the care of my grandmother, who was very, very poor. We literally lived in a cardboard-style house on a dirt floor. Food was very hard to come by, so I had to steal from stores in the area, so me and my sister could eat. This was a very bad time in my life and I started hanging around the wrong people. A lot of these people were drug users but I did not use drugs ever. I needed a place to sleep and I crashed wherever I could.
AW – You?ve been a pro since you were 15 years old. How did you first become interested in boxing?
OS – I had a friend, Fernando Rojo, and he was a big fan of Julio Cesar Chavez and wanted to be like Julio, so when I was around 10 years old, [Fernando] took me to the gym. I, really at that time, knew nothing about boxing. That gym was called Nuevos Valores and the owner was Victor Barron, who was my first trainer and is still with me today after 22 years. We still train together with Santos Moreno.
AW – After your first 19 fights, you were a modest 11-7-1 (7). What changed from your point of view, allowing you to suddenly go on such a fantastic run from basically a journeyman to becoming a two-time world champion?
OS ? First, I turned pro for survival, so I could make money to feed myself. I really had no idea what I was doing other than I would work out a little bit and if someone called, I would take a fight if I was in shape or not because I needed the money. After I had around 20 pro fights, my old friend who got me into boxing, Fernando Rojo, had moved to the United States and called me and said he knew a few people in boxing in the U.S. and I should come to the U.S. At the time, I did not have my papers, so I had to pay to cross into the U.S. by a ?coyote.? Those are people who take you out through the desert to cross illegally. Thank goodness that was a long time ago and I am 100% legal now and hope one day to gain U.S. citizenship. So after I arrived in the U.S., I was living with Fernando and a guy named Obando, that got fights for people, called about a couple of fights that I was not interested in at the time. I got disenchanted with boxing for a while and went to work in construction. I did that for a few months but missed boxing, so when Obando called again, I took my first fight in the U.S. vs. William Abelyan and lost a six-round decision. My second fight in the U.S. is when things started to turn for me and I started to believe I could do something in boxing. That fight was in Las Vegas back on May 18, 2001 and it was an eight-round draw vs. Mark Burse. At that time, I started to really train and prepare for fights like a pro. My big break came on March 22, 2002. I was brought in as an opponent for Lamont Pearson on the USA Boxing cable TV show. Pearson at the time was the number one IBF contender in the world and I beat him in a 10-round decision. The next day, I went to Las Vegas and signed with Top Rank Boxing. That got me my first world title shot vs. Juan Manuel Marquez. After the Marquez fight, I parted ways with Top Rank and that is where my next big break in boxing came. In early 2006, I signed with my current manager, Sean Gibbons, and he introduced me to my current promoter, Fernando Beltran of Zanfer Promotions, the number one promoter in Mexico. Sean and Fernando believed in me and since joining forces with both of them, we have had a fantastic run, going 13 wins, two losses and becoming a two-time 126 pound World Champion.
AW – In 2006, you beat Robert Guerrero, only for the result to be changed to a no-decision when you were found guilty of taking performance-enhancing drugs. Could you tell us your side of things?
OS – To this day, I do not know why the test was positive. I have never in my career or life used any performance-enhancing drugs. Also two days after the positive test came back from Quest Diagnostics, we went to another lab in California by the name of Lab Corp and the same test came back negative. So to this day, it still is a mystery to me.
AW – Having fought many very good fighters in your career, including Regilio Tuur, Alejandro Gonzalez, Juan Manuel Marquez, Cesar Soto, Robert Guerrero, Yuriorkis Gamboa and ?JuanMa? Lopez, who would you say was the best fighter you have fought and why?
OS – I feel the best fighter I fought in my career was Juan Manuel Marquez. He was a very good technician, good counterpuncher and [good at] defence.
AW – Can you tell us about your home life outside of boxing? What you like to do to relax and what are your hobbies and interests?
OS – When I am not training, I spend my time with my wife, Myra, and my two children, Bryan and Michelle. I don?t have a lot of hobbies other than spending time playing soccer with my son and spending as much time with my family because when I am training, I am usually away from them so I want to spend as much time hanging out with them when I?m not training.
AW ? Finally, do you have a message for the featherweight division?
OS – I want to let everybody in the featherweight division know this is my year. Watch out! I want to unify vs. Jhonny Gonzalez or Chris John. I am the best 126-pounder in the world and will fight anyone. Happy Holidays.
