Vargas, Salido Focused To Give Fans an Incredible Fight

by Francisco Salazar, photo by Chris Farina

Finally.

The day that many boxing fans had circled on their calendars for weeks has arrived. And it comes when the boxing world is in a somber mood.

No need to pinch yourself. It is June 4, but people went to sleep the night before having heard of the passing of heavyweight great and icon Muhammad Ali.

Today may be the day in which Francisco Vargas and Orlando Salido will unload an arsenal of right crosses and left hooks to the delight of what should be close to a sellout crowd at the Stubhub Center in Carson, Calif.

Then there are those amongst the crowd who cannot help but still be emotional and taken aback by the news of Ali's passing.

Vargas and Salido may be inspired to give more of themselves tonight in the wake of Ali's death. Based on their fighting styles, that will not be a problem.

Both fighters come forward and are never afraid to take one or two punches from their opponents in order to land one or two of their own.

Tonight's fight is also taking place at Stubhub Center, which has seen countless fights that end up being candidates for fights of the year. Vargas-Salido does have the potential to possibly be mentioned in the same breath as Israel Vazquez-Rafael Marquez (I & III), Timothy Bradley-Ruslan Provodnikov, and Brandon Rios-Mike Alvarado.

Or this fight could stand on its own. It is possible, because nothing should come as a surprise to anyone that is a fan of the sport.

Like Salido, who made his pro debut three and a half months after his 15th birthday. After 15 fights as a pro, Salido's ledger was 8-6-1.

By the looks of it, Salido could have wound up being another Mexican journeyman, coming to the United States every so often for a decent payday. But then, boxing fans would not have gotten a modest performance against the like of Juan Manuel Marquez and two victories over Juan Manuel Lopez, both which were candidates for fights of the year.

Many in boxing figured he was washed up when he was dropped four times before losing by technical decision to Miguel 'Mikey' Garcia. Then came three consecutive wins, including a split decision win over Vasyl Lomachenko.

Salido (43-13-3, 30 KOs), who many in boxing felt was victorious in his last bout against Roman 'Rocky' Martinez on September 12, personifies being down, but never out.

"When you get in to boxing, you are mentally prepared to get knocked down," said Salido during fight week. "Every time I've been knocked down, I just get back up again and fight. I like to prove everyone wrong and that's what I plan to do when I go in and fight this young undefeated fighter."

Vargas' record is unblemished, but was close to suffering his first defeat on November 21. The Mexico City resident was knocked down and seemed on the brink of losing to Takashi Miura before rallying to earn the knockout win in round nine.

Vargas (23-0-1, 17 KOs), who is the more-polished fighter between Salido and himself, has stopped his last four opponents in a row.
 
While Salido may have more fights and has fought the better opposition, Vargas is not shying away from going after a win on Saturday.

"I'm ready to give another incredible fight to the fans," said the 2008 Mexican Olympian. "I have always said I want to fight the best, and Salido is one of the best. The only thing on my mind is to win this fight on Saturday. I'm a technical fighter, but it will come down to my intelligence."

June 4 is now a reality. Like boxing fans, Vargas and Salido will likely have the butterflies and the nerves will likely be at an all-time high.

No need to have someone pinch a fellow boxing fan to comprehend what today is.

Vargas-Salido is something fans have wanted. Let two fighters, where their styles complement one another, duke it out and let the fans go home happy.

This was no different during the golden age of what was then a very deep heavyweight division during the 1970's. While Ali was a formidable boxer, he would give the fans their money's worth by exchanging combinations with some of the most vicious punchers in the division back then.

Ali may have gone to a better life, but his spirit would resonate if Vargas and Salido put together an instant classic Saturday night at Stubhub Center.

"I'm a warrior and Vargas is a warrior," said Salido. "The ones who will win will be the fans."

Francisco A. Salazar has written for Boxingscene.com since September of 2012 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (CA) Star newspaper, RingTV, and Knockout Nation. He can be reached by email at santio89@yahoo.com or on Twitter at FSalazarBoxing