Fibroso
01-18-2012, 03:12 PM
Featherweight title rematch set
By Dan Rafael
ESPN.com
Mexico's Orlando Salido went to Puerto Rico last April and knocked out Juan Manuel Lopez in front of his hometown fans to win a featherweight world title for the second time.
Now, Salido will try to keep the crown he won in one of 2011's biggest upsets by doing it again in the rematch.
Salido and Lopez, who met face-to-face at a news conference in San Juan on Tuesday to formally announce the sequel, will meet again March 10 (Showtime, 10 p.m. ET/PT) at Roberto Clemente Coliseum.
"I am very happy to have the opportunity to fight in the Roberto Clemente Coliseum, where my idol (Felix) 'Tito' Trinidad had so many fights, and this is a dream come true for me," Lopez said. "I want to thank Salido for coming back to Puerto Rico and giving me this opportunity. I knew Salido was a tough fighter and he came prepared and beat me. And he did -- no excuses.
"This fight is the most important of my career and I will train very hard to regain my title."
Lopez (31-1, 28 KOs) was a heavy favorite the first time he met Salido on Showtime. One of boxing's rising stars, Lopez was moving up the pound-for-pound list and headed to a unification showdown with Yuriorkis Gamboa when he faced the rugged Salido, who had given Gamboa a very tough fight in a decision loss in his previous bout, on April 16 in Bayamon, Puerto Rico.
Lopez, with defensive problems, could not stay away from Salido's hard right hands and paid the price. Salido dropped Lopez in the fifth round and then stopped him on his feet in the eighth round of an exciting fight that was even on all three scorecards when it was stopped.
The rematch has been on the drawing board since immediately after the first fight. But Salido, 31, wanted an interim fight, and Lopez needed time to collect himself after the loss.
"I expect a very different fight. I know he will be better then last time," Salido said. "I want to show that my first win was not a fluke. I came back to fight in Puerto Rico because he gave me the opportunity to fight for a world championship here and I have never had any problem winning on an opponent's home base."
Salido (37-11-2, 25 KOs) defended the title in July in his hometown of Ciudad Obregon, scoring an 11th-round knockout of Japan's Kenichi Yamaguchi. But he then struggled to an eighth-round knockout win in a nontitle bout against the Philippines' Weng Haya on Dec. 17. Haya knocked Salido down twice in a pitched battle before Salido rallied to preserve the rematch with Lopez.
Lopez, 28, also a former junior featherweight titlist, has fought just once since the defeat. He scored a second-round knockout of Mike Oliver in October.
In the Showtime opening bout, featherweight contender Miguel Angel "Mikey" Garcia (27-0, 23 KOs) of Oxnard, Calif., who figures to fight for a world title this year -- perhaps against the winner of the main event -- will face an opponent to be determined in a scheduled 10-round fight.
By Dan Rafael
ESPN.com
Mexico's Orlando Salido went to Puerto Rico last April and knocked out Juan Manuel Lopez in front of his hometown fans to win a featherweight world title for the second time.
Now, Salido will try to keep the crown he won in one of 2011's biggest upsets by doing it again in the rematch.
Salido and Lopez, who met face-to-face at a news conference in San Juan on Tuesday to formally announce the sequel, will meet again March 10 (Showtime, 10 p.m. ET/PT) at Roberto Clemente Coliseum.
"I am very happy to have the opportunity to fight in the Roberto Clemente Coliseum, where my idol (Felix) 'Tito' Trinidad had so many fights, and this is a dream come true for me," Lopez said. "I want to thank Salido for coming back to Puerto Rico and giving me this opportunity. I knew Salido was a tough fighter and he came prepared and beat me. And he did -- no excuses.
"This fight is the most important of my career and I will train very hard to regain my title."
Lopez (31-1, 28 KOs) was a heavy favorite the first time he met Salido on Showtime. One of boxing's rising stars, Lopez was moving up the pound-for-pound list and headed to a unification showdown with Yuriorkis Gamboa when he faced the rugged Salido, who had given Gamboa a very tough fight in a decision loss in his previous bout, on April 16 in Bayamon, Puerto Rico.
Lopez, with defensive problems, could not stay away from Salido's hard right hands and paid the price. Salido dropped Lopez in the fifth round and then stopped him on his feet in the eighth round of an exciting fight that was even on all three scorecards when it was stopped.
The rematch has been on the drawing board since immediately after the first fight. But Salido, 31, wanted an interim fight, and Lopez needed time to collect himself after the loss.
"I expect a very different fight. I know he will be better then last time," Salido said. "I want to show that my first win was not a fluke. I came back to fight in Puerto Rico because he gave me the opportunity to fight for a world championship here and I have never had any problem winning on an opponent's home base."
Salido (37-11-2, 25 KOs) defended the title in July in his hometown of Ciudad Obregon, scoring an 11th-round knockout of Japan's Kenichi Yamaguchi. But he then struggled to an eighth-round knockout win in a nontitle bout against the Philippines' Weng Haya on Dec. 17. Haya knocked Salido down twice in a pitched battle before Salido rallied to preserve the rematch with Lopez.
Lopez, 28, also a former junior featherweight titlist, has fought just once since the defeat. He scored a second-round knockout of Mike Oliver in October.
In the Showtime opening bout, featherweight contender Miguel Angel "Mikey" Garcia (27-0, 23 KOs) of Oxnard, Calif., who figures to fight for a world title this year -- perhaps against the winner of the main event -- will face an opponent to be determined in a scheduled 10-round fight.