By Jake Donovan - It was going to take a special performance for any of the fighters to separate themselves from the rest of the pack on HBO’s live tripleheader.
Mikey Garcia was well on his way to delivering in spades, before a headbutt left him with a broken nose and forced to accept a technical decision win over Orlando Salido.
The win earned the unbeaten Californian a featherweight belt Saturday evening at Madison Square Garden’s The Theatre in New York City. Scores were 79-70 and 79-69 (twice) in the contest, which was stopped just prior to the start of the ninth round.
A notorious slow starter who normally breaks down his opponents as the fight wears on, Garcia deviated from form as he struck early and often. Salido literally didn’t know what hit him, suffering two knockdowns in the opening round. Both knockdowns were produced by Garcia left hooks, though Salido never seemed badly hurt on either occasion.
The early deficit would only get worse for Salido, who fell behind by an insurmountable eight points through four rounds after suffering knockdowns in rounds three and four. A right uppercut produced the third round knockdown, again not very devastating but terribly effective as Garcia never came unnerved.
Scores were 79-70 and 79-69 (twice) in the contest, which was stopped just prior to the start of the ninth round.
