Featherweight Unification Bout between Salido and Gamboa Announced
When Orlando Salido earned a split decision victory over Cristobal Cruz for the IBF featherweight title on May 15, it not only settled a score between two Mexican fighters but it gave Salido the title he had been chasing his whole life. It also opened up new doors in his career, making him a fighter who was in demand. It appears that Salido has chosen his next opponent, as AOL FanHouse reports that he’s inked a deal to face off against WBA featherweight champion Yuriorkis Gamboa on July 24 at the Palms Casino in Las Vegas.
Cruz was originally considered to be a possible upcoming opponent for Gamboa (18-0, 15 KOs), the former Cuban amateur champion who has made a big splash in the professional scene since defecting to the United States in 2007. Gamboa’s manager Tony Gonzalez said that Gamboa had also considered signing a deal to fight the current interim WBA super featherweight title against Jorge Solis. However, Gamboa chose Salido (34-10-2, 22 KOs) as his next opponent after viewing video of Salido’s 2004 unanimous decision loss to current WBA and WBO lightweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez.
According to Gonzalez, Gamboa believes that Salidos’ style and skills are an excellent fit for his own abilities. Specifically, he said that Salidos looked slow against Marquez - and that bout was almost six years ago. Gamboa believes that Salidos must be even slower now, making him an easy target for the fast hands of Gamboa. While Salidos might not be a big name like some of the other top featherweights - other names that had been mentioned as possible opponents included WBA super champion Chris John (43-0-2, 22 KOs), WBO title holder Juan Manuel Lopez (28-0, 25 KOs), and WBC champion Elio Rojas (22-1, 23 KOs).
Gamboa’s most recent fight was last month, when he dominated previously unbeaten Jonathan Victor Barros before scoring a unanimous decision victory in his third defense of the title he won in April 2009 with a 10th round stoppage of Jose Rojas in Primm, NV. Other title defenses included a second round knockout of Tanzanian fighter Rogers Mtagwa and a fourth round TKO victory over Panamanian veteran Whyber Garcia - with both fights coming at Madison Square Garden in New York.
In fact, the unanimous decision victory over Barros stopped a streak of seven consecutive knockouts that he had racked up coming into the fight. However, Gonzalez said that it was good for Gamboa to have gone the distance in order to prove to himself and other opponents that he isn’t just a knockout artist and has the stamina and discipline to crank out a 12-round victory. As Gonzalez pointed out, Gamboa has less than 20 fights as a professional and will help him in the training and preparation for future fights along with building the confidence that he can go deep into fights when he faces a higher caliber of opponent.
Salido definitely will be the sternest test for Gamboa since he won the WBA title. His split decision victory over Cruz avenged a split decision loss for the same title in October 2008. Salido had rebounded from that defeat with wins over Leonardo Resendiz and Victor Rodriguez to earn a rematch for the title. As with their first bout, the rematch was a tough, bruising encounter, although this time Salido had enough in the tank to win some late rounds and earn a close nod over Cruz (breaking Cruz’s six match unbeaten streak in the process). However, Salido has lost 10 times in his career, including being knocked out five different times. With his track record for being stopped short of the distance, it will be tough for Salido to hang around with a fighter possessing the raw power that Gamboa does.
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