By Jake Donovan

Every time he steps into the ring Orlando Salido remains living proof that boxers are rewarded for the risks they take rather than for the pristine records they seek to protect.

The former two-division champ would remain a cult favorite no matter whom he would be facing in his next fight. At one point, he hoped for it to be a third clash with Roman ‘Rocky’ Martinez, against whom he previous lost to and drew with in their pair of 12-round wars a year ago. When that didn’t happen, he sought an even tougher challenge, leading to a mouth-watering showdown with unbeaten super featherweight titlist Francisco Vargas.

Their showdown this Saturday carries the perfect backdrop, as their HBO-televised headliner will take place at the famed StubHub Center in Carson, California. The event marks the 14th time that HBO will air a boxing telecast live from the house that has produced so many Fight of the Year-level ring wars over the years.

Chances are, this weekend will serve as the latest entry in the venue’s already rich history.

“I think our styles are made perfect for each other,” Salido (43-13-3, 30KOs) believes of this Saturday’s clash with his Mexican countryman. “I think we're going to go in there from minute one and just start throwing punches. There's not going to be any feeling out process. “There's going to be a lot of entertainment for the fans.”

Entertainment is what Salido has consistently provided in his 20-year career, one that began with a knockout loss as a 15-year old debutante in March ’96.

At one point, the hardened boxer from Ciudad Obregón, Sonora, Mexico had considered calling it a career. He struggled to find an honest person in this often miserable business, stumbling out to a less-than-attractive 11-7-2 start and was 14-8-2 through six full years in the pro ranks.

His current record hardly looks TV-friendly, but there exists a lot of blood, sweat and tears in the 29 wins he’s since achieved over his past 36 fights. The non-winning performances over that stretch were hardly shameful, all coming with a major title at stake.

Interestingly, an official ring victory feels like a distant memory, his hand having not been raised in the ring since claiming a 130-pound title in a savage seven-knockdown war with Terdsak Kokietgym in Sept. ’14.

“I've never been a protected fighter,” Salido proudly acknowledges. “I have to take the fights that are offered to me, but it's very exciting to me. I like those kinds of fights. I love going in there and fighting those kinds of fights. It's what I like to do.

“And yes, I'm very excited about this fight because I think it'll be just like the other ones.”

His loss and draw with Martinez in 2015 were both the types of fights that leave fans wanting more, no matter whom emerges victorious. Martinez managed a hard-fought 12-round win in their first fight last April, with Salido appearing to have outfought his Puerto Rican ring rival in their rematch last September, only to have to settle for a draw.

When plans fell through for a third fight, Salido and his team – led by his tireless manager Sean Gibbons – launched an aggressive media campaign for a shot at a newly minted super featherweight titlist in Vargas.

The pairing seemed a natural fit given the manner in which they ply their trade. Vargas made boxing fans proud in the manner in which he obtained his title, fighting through a swollen-shut eye, a gruesome cut and a mid-rounds knockdown to rally back and stop long-reigning titlist Takashi Miura in the 9th round of their blood-soaked slugfest that was hailed by many outlets – including BoxingScene.com – as 2015 Fight of the Year.

Alas, his upcoming title defense versus Salido nearly didn’t happen.

Six weeks out from fight night. Vargas tested positive for small traces of Clebuterol. The banned substance is used by bodybuilders – and in recent years, by boxers – during the weight-cutting cycle of training camp. It has also come up in a serious development in Mexico where slaughterhouses are producing contaminated meat from livestock injected with the drug.

The latter is the alibi to which Vargas and his team continue to cling as the cause for his adverse test result on April 21, his second night home in Mexico City after having previously produced three clean tests while in California. The contention was that the positive test result was the result of the meat that was prepared in a homemade serving of carne asada de jugo.

Following an emergency meeting with Vargas, Salido and their respective teams, the California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) opted to allow the bout to proceed as scheduled. The ruling camp with major stipulations, with Vargas obligated to undergo additional testing as often as the CSAC sees fit.

Vargas and Golden Boy Promotions were fine with the request, as was Salido – ever the fighter who just wants to get in the ring.

“You know, it's not really my concern,” Salido admits of the commission’s decision to permit Vargas to go through with the fight. “That's why we have a Commission. That's why we test them, what they do, what they need to do.

“All I know is getting ready for the fight, tell me the fight is on, then I'm getting ready, and I'm going to fight him.”

There is a bit of empathy in Salido’s thoughts, having been down that road himself. What was thought to be his first career title win resulted in the belt being stamped “Return to Sender” when a Nov.’06 win over Robert Guerrero was later changed to a No-Contest after Salido tested positive for the banned substance Nandrolone.

It was the lone time in over 20 years as a professional that he ever produced a positive test, but firmly believes he’s still left to clear his name to this day.

“You know, the only thing I have to say any more about this is if it would've been me that it would've come up positive, you know, the fight would've been cancelled and it would've been all over,” Salido firmly believes. “It would've been done with. You know? Is that justice, I don't know; I'm just telling you that that's all I got to say about that.”

That said, Salido was given a second chance by the boxing community following the debacle with Guerrero – one that cost the proud warrior his reputation as a clean fighter. It also cost his team a lot of time and money.

“We went through the exact same thing,” Gibbons recalls. “We knew Orlando was a clean fighter. There’s no way he’d take any drug, never mind Nandrolone, which is known as the kiss of death in boxing (due to how long it remains in an athlete’s system).

“One year and $25,000 later, what do they say? ‘He’s a cheater, he’s a dirty fighter.’ We worked long and hard to get to where we are today, after that one test we knew was not accurate.”

That hard work including his throwing down with boxers on all level – established veterans, unbeaten talents on the rise, and fellow resurgent ring warriors.

Losses to the likes of Martinez, Juan Manuel Marquez, Yuriorkis Gamboa and Mikey Garcia – the latter two whom were unbeaten at the time of their respective wins over Salido – don’t define his career any more than his ring triumphs over Juan Manuel Lopez (twice, the first to beat the former two-division titlist), Orlando Cruz and Vasyl Lomachenko.

His willingness to take on all comers is that same level of fighting spirit that prompted the 36-year old to instruct his team to go through with this fight. The manner in which Clenbuterol entered Vargas’ system was less concerning the time at which it was discovered. Had it occurred the week of the fight, it’s a different conversation entirely. Six weeks out? Game on.

“We don't want to waste any more time on this,” Gibbons insists of the drug talk. “We're here to fight. Orlando's here to fight. He's not worried about no Clenbuterol, or whatever. He's just here to fight. We'll move past this and let's just go have a great fight. We're past this now.”

All that Salido now has to get past is yet another unbeaten defending titlist at the top of his game. The fact that he’s taking on a proven champion from Mexico raises the bar that much more.

“You know, we are warriors,” Salido notes. “We go in there and give it our all, fight with balls, with all our might, and you know what happens, win or lose… we just give it our all. We're just going to give it everything we have each and every time we get into the ring.”

Vargas proved that much in the manner in which he claimed his title. Salido has proven it throughout his adventurous ring journey. Regardless of whom he’s faced, the veteran boxer knows better than to believe “been there, done that” will be enough to get the job done.

“I don't know if it'll be an advantage or not, my experience or not, I'm just getting ready for the fight,” promises Salido. “The advantage will be the preparation to getting ready.

“I know I've got a very tough fight in front of me, I know I'm fighting the guy that's going to come to fight me at every moment, and I think the fans are going to be the winners here because it will be a great fight.”

Jake Donovan is the managing editor of BoxingScene.com. Follow his shiny new Twitter account: @JakeNDaBox_v2