beIn Sports Espanol Quick Picks

Orlando Salido vs. Terdsak Kokietgym: Saturday one of the new players to the boxing world will provide fans with some good action.  That new player is beIn Sports Espanol and they will be putting on a card headlined by Orlando Salido (41-12-2, 28 KO).  Salido will be in the ring with Terdsak Kokietgym (53-4-1, 33 KO) who is a veteran fighter from Thailand.  The two men are scheduled to go 12 rounds in the junior lightweight division and will be trying to take home a vacant WBO interim title.  Salido is well known by boxing fans because he has always taken on the best fighters available which is one of the reasons his resume is filled with so many losses.  Salido has been in the ring with the likes of Juan Manuel Marquez, Robert Guerrero, Yuriorkis Gamboa, Juan Manuel Lopez, Mikey Garcia, and newcomer Vasyl Lomachenko.  Salido fights out of the orthodox stance he is an aggressive offensive fighter.  While it may not be fair to label Salido as a dirty fighter anyone who watches his last bout against Lomachenko knows that he will bend the rules.  Like most veteran fighters Salido knows how to get in work on the inside and always seems to know where the referee is.  Salido has a nice left hook and a strong right hand.  Salido also puts in some good work with his jab and goes to the body nicely.  While he isn't the slickest fighter in the sport he is one of the toughest and hardest working which is why he has stayed at a high level for so long.  The peak for Kokietgym came back around 2005 & 2006 when he fought Joan Guzman and Juan Manuel Marquez in title fights but he lost both and hasn't really faced the same level of opposition since.  Kokietgym is a southpaw so look for head clashes, especially since Salido loves to stay in the pocket.  One thing Kokietgym does have going for him are his very fast hands.  He has a nice jab and throws a lot of one-twos but he also has a very short right hook that he turns over nicely.  The difference in this fight should be the fact that Salido has recently faced some of the best fighters in the sport while Kokietgym has been fighting average fighters at best.  The constant pressure and the toughness of Salido should be to much for Kokietgym and Salido will win this fight via unanimous decision.

Javier Mendoza vs. Ramon Garcia Hirales: The co-feature of Saturday's card will also be a title fight.  That fight will be between Javier Mendoza (21-2-1, 18 KO) and Ramon Garcia Hirales (20-4-1, 12 KO).  The two pugilists are scheduled to go 12 rounds in the junior flyweight division for a vacant IBF title.  Mendoza is the much younger fighter and this fight represents a big step up in competition for him.  He has yet to face any top talent and his last five opponents had records of 18-16-1, 6-3-1, 5-4, 7-11-2, and 5-13.  On the other hand  Hirales has been in with some of the best in his division and in the sport as a whole.  His two most recent losses came against the man who sits atop the junior flyweight division in Donnie Nietes and one of the biggest punchers in the sport who goes by the name Roman Gonzalez.  If experience is a key to winning Hirales has a major advantage.  When there is a hardly any video footage of a fighter its generally not a very good sign and that is the case with Mendoza.  What is known about Mendoza is that he is a southpaw with good power.  However he isn't very skilled and his punches are thrown very wildly.  Mendoza does have a good right hook and a powerful left hand but he throws everything wild looking to end the fight and leaves himself open for a counter attack.  As for Hirales he is also a southpaw but is much more refined than his opponent.  Hirales moves around the ring well and fights good on the inside.  He has a nice jab and a good right hook and his ring experience against top fighters should make him a tough opponent for Mendoza.  The only real chance Mendoza has to win this fight is if he catches Mirales with a perfect punch but that seems unlikely considering Hirales has only been stopped once and that was by the incredibly powerful punching Gonzalez.  Instead what should happen is that Hirales uses his sharper skills to pick Mendoza apart on his way to a unanimous decision win.