HBO Fight Preview

Francisco Vargas vs. Orlando Salido

This Saturday on HBO Francisco Vargas will take on Orlando Salido.  The fight is scheduled to go 12 rounds and Vargas' WBC lightweight title will be on the line.  This will be the first fight for Vargas since his brutal war with Takashi Miura last year that was awarded Big Time Boxing's 2015 Fight of the Year.  Pitting Vargas against Salido has every boxing head drooling with anticipation and although casual fans might not recognize their names if they tune in they won't be sorry.

Vargas showed a world of heart against Miura

When you compare a fighter to the late great ultimate blood and guts warrior Arturo Gatti what you're saying is that the fighter has talent but mostly he has a tremendous amount of heart and always gives fans a good show.  That is Vargas.  Vargas can fight well from the outside where he can land his crisp jab he often doubles up.  However, he also fights well from in close where he loves to rip left hooks to the body as he fights out of the orthodox stance.  With those left hooks Vargas also has a dangerous right hand and it can do damage as a straight right or as an overhand right.  Defensively though Vargas will square up at times and he does take his fair share of punishment.  But if you're comparing a fighter to Gatti, taking punishment comes with the territory.  

In his last fight on the undercard of the pay-per-view bout between Saul "Canelo" Alvarez and Miguel Cotto, Vargas turned in a gem.  He started off fast against Miura and looked like he would dispatch of him quickly.  Then on came Miura as he started to beat Vargas up.  Vargas was dropped in that fight and the fight was nearly stopped at the end of the eighth round.  Then somehow Vargas managed to dig down deep and stop Miura in the ninth round.  It was an incredible performance and one that made Vargas a fan favorite.  Along with that win Vargas also has victories over Jerry Belmontes and Juan Manuel Lopez and his career record is an impressive 23-0-1 with 17 knockouts from the boxer-puncher.  Leading up to this fight Vargas tested positive for a banned steroid used to fatten beef.  However, after that positive test Vargas proclaimed his innocence and moved his training camp from Mexico City, where tainted beef had been found, to California and despite being tested more than any other boxer perhaps ever, never failed another test.

Salido always make it tough on his opponents

As for Salido, he certainly isn't a skilled boxer but that hasn't mattered much.  Salido fights out of the orthodox stance and is probably one of the dirtiest fighters in the sport, although his fans would probably describe him as a savvy veteran.  Salido doesn't enter the ring to box, he comes to fight.  The veteran fighter doesn't use his jab much and instead plows forward behind a digging left hook and a dangerous straight right hand.  Salido always puts in great body work and on the inside he will often throw low-blows, making sure the referee doesn't see it by using the hand opposite him.  Fighters can beat Salido if they stay on the outside but he is so good at getting in close and making fights into brawls that this fight against Vargas could easily end up a candidate for 2016 Fight of the Year.

Salido is only four years older than Vargas but has been around much longer because Vargas chose to remain an amateur to fight in the Olympics.  Salido has seemingly fought everyone and has wins over Vasyl Lomachenko, Juan Manuel Lopez, and Terdsak Kokietgym to name a few.  He has also been in the ring with Juan Manuel Marquez and Yuriorkis Gamboa and lost and has a loss and a draw against Roman "Rocky" Martinez.  It seems like Salido has been around forever and his career record stands at 43-13-3 with 30 knockouts.

This is one of those fights you tell your friends they have to watch even if they aren't boxing fans because it could very well turn them into boxing fans.  Both of these fighters seem to enjoy mixing it up and dishing out punishment and since both fight well from the pocket the fight could easily take place in a phone booth.  Vargas may be younger and quicker but Salido knows all the tricks of the trade and doesn't mind using them to secure a victory.  Both men have been through wars in the ring and if this turns into another bloodbath it will be interesting to see who can dig down deeper and come away victorious.

PREDICTION: Orlando Salido is great at fighting from the pocket but not so great outside of it.  Francisco Vargas needs to be smart and use his superior boxing skills to win this fight from the outside.  Sure, there will be plenty of exciting exchanges from close range but Vargas should do his best to stay on the outside.  This will be a good fight and a knockdown or two from Vargas will only make the scores wider as he wins a clear unanimous decision.

Julian Ramirez vs. Abraham Lopez

The co-feature of Saturday's HBO fight is certainly an intriguing one.  That fight pits Julian Ramirez up against Abraham Lopez in what will be the HBO debut for both fighters.  Also, neither fighter has a loss between them and they are both talented prospects under 30 who won't give their unbeaten record up without a serious fight.  The fight is scheduled to go 10 rounds in the talented featherweight division.

This will be the biggest fight of Ramirez's career

Ramirez is very young at only 23-years-old.  He fights out of the southpaw stance and has plenty of boxing skills.  Typically Ramirez fights in an aggressive style behind his accurate jab and straight left hand.  However, he also has a solid right hook and a crooked left hand he will bang to the body.  The problem is that Ramirez doesn't have much pop on his punches.  Ramirez does have enough pop to make his opponents respect him but he is far from being a knockout puncher.  At times though the younger fighter can get overly aggressive on the inside and square up to his opponent giving them a larger target, which is something he needs to improve on going forward.

The young Ramirez has yet to face any true top fighters but in recent fights he has faced solid competition.  Not only will the fight against Lopez be the biggest of his career but it will also be the toughest.  As it stands now Ramirez has a perfect record of 16-0 with 8 knockout and a win over an unbeaten opponent on HBO could really help him continue to climb the ladder and garner attention.

Lopez will be the bigger puncher on Saturday

Lopez is an orthodox fighter who is a boxer-puncher and he certainly has more pop on his punches than Ramirez does.  Lopez has a solid jab and a pretty good straight right hand but he will throw that right hand as a crooked punch to the body on the inside with a lot of success.  Another weapon Lopez has in his arsenal is a strong left hook.  However, he also comes with defensive flaws such as pulling straight back which is always a good way to get knocked out.

Much like Ramirez, Lopes hasn't faced any top fighters but he has been brought along nicely and has faced quality opposition in recent fights.  The one blemish on his resume is a draw against Juan Carlos Martinez in 2015 but since then he has gone 3-0 with three knockouts and his career record is 20-0-1 with 15 knockouts.

It is always great when fans get to see two young, unbeaten fighters go head-to-head.  Far too often young fighters avoid facing equally talented peers in an effort to protect their records so it is always good to see to guys willing to risk the zero in their respective loss columns.  This should be a good fight because both fighters do different things well.  Ramirez is the better boxer but Lopez is the bigger puncher and probably the naturally bigger man and this fight seems like it could easily go either way.

PREDICTION: If this fight is left to the judges to decide it could come down to which style they prefer.  Judges who favor slick boxers will probably have Julian Ramirez winning the fight.  But judges who prefer heavier punches will probably favor Abraham Lopez.  This looks to go a 50/50 type fight but the better boxing skills of Ramirez will just be enough to get him the majority decision victory.