By Ryan Burton
Mandalay Bay, LAS VEGAS, NV - On December 9th dueling cards featuring most of the best fighters in the super featherweight division take place on HBO and ESPN.
HBO will televise a triple header in Las Vegas headlined by Orlando Salido against Mickey Roman and will be rounded with former champion Francisco Vargas facing Stephen Smith and Tevin Farmer facing Kenichi Ogawa for the vacant IBF super featherweight title.
The ESPN main event that will take place in New York will feature two-time Olympic gold medalists Vasily Lomachenko and Guillermo Rigondeaux. The latter is moving up two weight divisions in what will be the first ever fight with two multiple Olympic gold medal winners.
Roman (57-12) believes that all 4 of the 130 pound fights will be good but believes that his fight against Salido (44-13-4) will be way more action packed than the more heralded Lomachenko-Salido fight that is one of the most anticipated fights of the year.
"They are both great fights but definitely my fight is going to be a lot better. Guillermo Rigondeaux and Lomachenko are going to dance in the ring and I am here to fight. The styles with me and Salido go together so that you are going to see a war in the ring," Roman told BoxingScene.com.
Lomachenko has knocked out six opponents in a row and while Rigondeaux has devastating power, he usually fights in a defensive manner which doesn't always endear himself to fans looking for action packed fights.
Roman promises that his fight will give the fans their money's worth.
"I think that is a good fight but it is nothing like our fight. My fight will be a lot better. They are going to be dancing and moving in the ring and we are going to fight. The difference is the styles. I am going to fight. That is the way I am and that is the way Salido is," Roman said.
"That fight is a fight of technical fighters looking to move around and outpoint each other while Salido and myself will go to war,
Salido has been in two recent of Fight of the Year candidates with his wars against Francisco Vargas and Rocky Martinez and Roman produced his own Fight of the Year candidate in January when he was stopped in 12 rounds by former champion Takashi Miura. Roman was leading on the scorecards before being knocked down once in each of the last three rounds before he was counted out in the 12th round.
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