Flash Elorde vs Vicente Saldivar

At 126? I can't pick against Saldivar. A rare southpaw vs southpaw ATG match up.

I see Saldivar catching up with his potent offense whilst losing the early rounds. Elorde makes it tough all the way with his footwork and shifting. Saldivar wins a clear decision for me.

 

Same. I'd pick Elorde at a hypothetical 130, though.

 

Is this at 126 or 130? I think that's the deal breaker.

 

Ah, yes, I see that now.

In that case, I'm going to go massively out on a limb and pick Saldivar at 126 and Elorde at 130!

In all seriousness, Saldivar was one of those fighters who was a perfect fit for the weight division he was in. He turned pro in that weight class and fought his final fight there 12 years later. I'm not sure fought at more than a pound or so over the featherweight limit in his entire career.

Bearing this in mind, it's really hard to say what impact adding even two or three pounds would have had on his performance against a guy who was taking on the world's best lightweight during the same time period - kind of like that hypothetical matchup between Sanchez and Chavez at 130. When you've only ever seen a fighter in one weight class, it's pretty much impossible to predict how weight gain would affect their performance. For that reason alone, I'm picking Elorde at his best weight.

We did at least see Elorde at 126 and he was good enough to beat Sandy Saddler so he'd give Saldivar all he could handle in my view. But in his mid-60s prime, no-one got the better of Vicente Saldivar at featherweight, so I pick him to take a decision there.

It would be interesting to see how their southpaw styles clashed.

 

As to why this matchup never materialised at the time, my best guess is that it was a combination of circumstance and timing. Saldivar had a pretty steady diet of top featherweights to pick from during his 64-67 title reign, including that fantastically competitive series with Howard Winstone. Elorde meanwhile broke up his reign with intermittent challenges against Ortiz so I doubt there was ever a really feasible window.

And as per my last post, Saldivar was in his natural element at 126, I'm not sure what the appeal would have been for him to step up for a world title in a still minor division (albeit one that Elorde was establishing with his own title reign). Elorde, by contrast, had an obvious incentive to move up to challenge for a world title in an established weight division.

With hindsight, of course, this is a mouthwatering matchup, particularly at 130, where it's a really hard call to say who would have won.

 

Oddly enough, they both died of cancer in 1985.

 

Saldivar...by a stoppage before 13.

 

I really like the nasty right hook of Saldivar in this. Very very difficult punch to prepare for and I think it is the main punch in the fight. Like other's said, late tko because Elorde is going to hang tough with that champion's heart and is not going out easy.