Vargas vs Salido is arguably this weekend’s best – and certainly most explosive – matchup on paper. Both fighters are bona-fide front-runners of the division, have dynamite in both hands, and are coming in off Fight of the Year candidates in 2015. Francisco Vargas battled an equally ferocious Takashi Miura en route to picking up the WBC strap via 9th round TKO in November, while Orlando Salido had to settle for a Draw against WBO champ Roman Martinez earlier in September.
Vargas has the greater skill set going into Saturday’s fight, but anyone who writes of a front-foot banger like Salido – built without a reverse gear – really is a fool. Salido can be knocked down, sure, but it’s keeping him on the canvas and taming the beast within that is the problem. Salido is the four-year-older man here with no less than sixty fights on his veteran record, but the Mexican slugger hasn’t shown any signs of slowing down in recent times.
Catch HBO’s Vargas vs Salido Preview:
Whatever happens, however long it lasts, Vargas vs Salido looks like a barnburner well worth tuning into, especially when other alternatives this weekend include Liam Smith’s title defense against soft touch Predrag Radosevic. And – though I hate to use this overused fight-hyper – Vargas and Salido are both of Mexican decent, meaning a war is fairly likely to breakout.
Fight Time & TV Channel: Vargas vs Salido will unfold at the StubHub Center in Carson, California, and will broadcast Live on HBO from 10:30pm ET. Unbeaten Featherweight contenders Julian Ramirez (16-0, 8 KO) and Abraham Lopez (20-0-1, 15 KO) will be locking horns beforehand in the night’s chief support.
Francisco Vargas vs Orlando Salido: Extended Tale of the Tape, Facts & Stats
Note: Advantageous stats are indicated in red (some may be subjective), and championship stats refer to ‘fully fledged world titles’ only.
Vargas vs Salido
Physical/Vital
Birthplace
Mexico City, Mexico … Sonoro, Mexico
Age
31 … 35
Height
5’ 8” … 5′ 6″
Reach
70″ … 67″
Stance
Orthodox … Orthodox
Record
Debut
2010 … 1996
Bouts
24 … 60
Wins / Defeats / Draws / KOs
23-0-1, 17 KO … 43-13-3, 30 KO
Knockout Ratio
71% (17) … 50% (30)
Last 5 Fights
5-0, 4 KO … 3-1-1, 2 KO
Last 10 Fights
10-0, 7 KO … 7-2-1, 6 KO
1st Round Knockouts
4 … 2
2nd Round Knockouts
2 … 3
3rd Round Knockouts
6 … 5
4th – 6th Round Knockouts
1 … 12
Defeats by Knockout
0 … 5
Knockdowns Suffered
1 … 16
Rounds Boxed
101 … 407
12-Rounders Completed
0 … 8
Current Winning Streak
23 … 0
Undefeated Fighters Defeated
3 … 4
Latest Win
Takashi Miura (TKO 9) … Terdsak Kokietgym (KO 11)
World Title Bout Experience
Wins / Defeats / Draws / KOs
1-0, 1 KO … 4-3-1, 4 KO
Successful Defenses
NA … 2
Longest Championship Reign
11/2015 – 06/2016 … 04/2011 – 01/2013
Major Titles Won
WBC (130 lbs) … IBF, WBO (126 lbs)
Major Titles Currently Held
WBC (130 lbs) … None
Boxing Base Top 10 World Ranking
No.1 … No.4
Notable Performances
VARGAS: Takashi Miura (TKO 9), Will Tomlinson (TKO 8), Juan Manuel Lopez (RTD 3), Abner Cotto (UD 10), Jerry Belmontes (UD 10), Brandon Bennett (UD 10),
SALIDO: Roman Martinez (Draw 12, LOSS: UD 12), Terdsak Kokietgym (KO 11), Vasyl Lomachenko (SD 12), Orlando Cruz (KO 7), Mikey Garcia (TD 8), Moises Gutierrez (KO 3), Juan Manuel Lopez (TKO 10, TKO 8), Kenichi Yamaguchi (TKO 11), Yuriorkis Gamboa (UD 12), Hector Julio Avila (TKO 6), Roberto Guerrero (ND), Juan Manuel Marquez (LOSS: UD 12), Radford Beasley (TKO 2), Carlos Gerena (MD 10), Lamont Pearson (UD 10), Regilio Tuur (SD 8), Dustin Kim (TKO 5)
Common Opponents
(RTD 3) … Juan Manuel Lopez … (TKO 10, TKO 8)
What’s your take on BB’s Vargas vs Salido Tale of the Tape, Facts & Stats? And how do you see the action playing out at the weekend? We’ll have Live Results Coverage here at Boxing Base, plus Live Round by Round Coverage via @BoxingBase on Twitter.
