ONE of the most awaited rematches in the sport is on today as Orlando Salido will try to prove that his upset victory over the erstwhile unassailable Juan Manuel Lopez was no fluke.
During their first encounter, Salido who was parading a rather pedantic 34-11, 22KOs slate, looked awesome in dismantling ?Juanma.?
Prior to that fight, Lopez was a pound-for- pound entrant, undefeated in 31 starts with 27 stoppages.
He was a sleek, shiny sports car running laps around the competition. In contrast, Salido was a clunky, sputtering diesel pickup truck that had seen better days.
Sure he was still serviceable and reliable and had been in there with top notch opposition, but matched up against the vastly superior Lopez, he was deemed as just another stepping stone for Lopez to highlight and showcase his skills.
It was supposed to be de rigeur for Lopez. Surprise, surprise.
While Lopez looked strong and fast in the first few rounds, Salido didn?t seem to notice and returned fire.
In the middle rounds, it was the hotshot racecar that sputtered while the clunky old deisel engine just kept on going. In round 5, Orlando scored a knockdown and from thereon, it was a downhill ride for the defending champ.
To his credit, Lopez showed the heart of a champion and valiantly fought back, unwilling to surrender what he believed was his by destiny and by right.
But the irreverent Salido walked through some of his best shots and fired back relentlessly.
In the eighth round, the referee had to step in to prevent more harm on the badly battered Lopez who was sagging on the ropes.
REMATCH. Today, they meet again. As the clich? goes, will it be repeat or revenge?
Since their first encounter, Salido has scored two victories, via the short route, registering a stoppage of tough Kenichi Yamaguchi before struggling a bit against our very own Weng Haya before eventually prevailing in 8 rounds.
His rival Lopez also redeemed himself with a blistering 2nd round stoppage of Mike Oliver. The question is whether or not he can hold off the rampaging Salido?
MY TAKE. Salido?s record is misleading when you only consider the figures and doesn?t quite reflect how good he has become of late.
Prior to the Lopez win, his last three losses since 2004 came against top-tier opposition, such as Yuyiorkis Gamboa, Cristobal Cruz and Juan Manuel Marquez, all via decision.
Even so, he avenged that loss to Cruz a few years later and scored a knockdown against the talented Gamboa.
I think Lopez followed a wrong game-plan against Salido on their first fight as he tried to brawl and outmuscle him.
As strong as he is, he was negating his other talents in other departments where he could have dominated.
To recall, Lopez made an almost fatal mistake in engaging our very own Bernabe Concepcion in a wild brawl in 2010. He got caught by a savage left hook that turned his knees rubbery. Luckily, he was too good for Concepcion and finished the fight in two rounds.
Against the iron willed and tougher Salido, he will have to be more disciplined in his approach.
He should box more and utilize his inherent advantages in speed and skill. If he follows this, he should win by decision. But if he decides to go for broke and gets rancorous , he will be playing right into the dangerous Salido?s hands. In the latter scenario, Salido wins this one again via late stoppage.
ABE FIGHTS TOO. Speaking of Concepcion, he will figure in a donnybrook of his own today against the highly regard Miguel Angel Garcia.
Once touted as a potential heir to our current crop of boxing heroes, Concepcion (29-5, 15Kos) has lost two of his last three fights. The undefeated Mikey Garcia brings a lot to the table, with an immaculate record of 27 wins and 23 via the short route.
Without a doubt, ?Abe? has his work cut out for him, but his one- punch knockout power assures that he will always be a threat at any stage of the fight. He will need our prayers to land that big one.
LAST ROUNDS. Are on Marit Stinus and Jennifer Mayol who recently celebrated their birthdays. Cheers!
