Yesterday he officially (and quietly, in light of being the one man to ever defeat the current p4p #1 in the pros) dropped off the active roster of every major org's rankings, with it being the anniversary of his most recent - and truthfully, in all likelihood final ever - ring appearance. So what do we make of the career super feather, who finishes with a record of 44-14-4-1 (31) provided no ill-advised comebacks? He started things off very much on the wrong foot, with a KO loss several months before the professional debut of Floyd Mayweather Jr. (the almost exact contemporary that would hold the p4p #1 spot for the overwhelming bulk of Siri's campaign). In sixty-two more bouts, he would suffer this ignominy of a result only 5 more times, most during the Clinton administration, with zero stoppage defeats between the years of 2001 and 2016 despite consistently (not always, mind you, but more often than not) taking on top-shelf opposition. He became the archetypal road warrior, suffering a few instances of inept or corrupt judging, but the pendulum also swung the other way at times, with the dog having its day and Salido bagging an upset decision here and there. His kamikaze style also led to plenty of scintillating middle-of-the-ring brawls yielding attrition (or, a bit less often, single punch) kayos - far more often with the victim hailing from the opposite corner. He fought in a forgotten classic with Dinamita Márquez and came up just a bit short in what could have been a legacy-defining victory in 2004. He was robbed by dumb-luck circumstance of yet another just two years later, against Robert Guerrero, in a contest where the plug was pulled just as Salido appeared to be on the verge of triumph, and which never received the due closure of a rematch (a discretion chosen wisely, if not valiantly, on the part of the Ghost). Over the following decade, Salido would in fact stamp his legacy indelibly on the sport, refusing to be relegated to mere journeyman status despite his record and outside-the-ring hardships. Working full time jobs pretty much concurrently alongside pugilism (he was an Uber driver for a few years...and even had another side hustle involving cars...albeit 'hot' ones, that saw him branded a convicted felon in Mexico) he kept barnstorming at the same blistering pace across North America, taking all comers, pulling himself up by the proverbial bootstraps and recovering almost instantaneously from each setback, and finally snared that signature trophy in 2011, when he knocked out the undefeated and ballyhooed Puerto Rican juggernaut Juan Manuel López (and in the bargain deprived Bob Arum of millions of dollars, turning up the burner to "high" and instantly scorching what the promoter himself referred to as the 'soup' of a lucrative Gamboa vs. López showdown which he preferred to let simmer until it could reach critical mass and headline a PPV...whoops...) - and left no doubt as to whether it was a fluke by repeating the result in a rematch eleven months later. Salido was now a somebody in the boxing world (his name being now one known to casuals; although to die-hard fans of the sport and the Mexican scene in particular he already had been a known & celebrated entity for years) and received, for somebody with a dozen losses, a very high degree of media coverage during his last five years of action, with all the concomitant ups & downs - with the highest of highs being a trophy putting JuanMa to shame (namely Vasyl Lomachenko, in a dirty gut-check of mortality for the young amateur god brought crashing to earth, although not without some lingering protests ever since, and murmurs of a rematch for quite a while afterwards, only abandoned fairly recently). Of his final nine opponents, spanning from 2013 until 2017, eight were unquestionably world class, to one degree or another, some obviously greater than others. His results against them were mixed, going 4-3-2, but the only blemish in there without a big asterisk beside it remains that against Mikey García. The loss to Rocky Martínez and pair of draws - against Martínez in their rematch and Francisco Vargas - were all highly controversial verdicts...and his first stoppage loss in almost three full presidencies was a sign that he might have overstayed his time in the sport. With all due respect to Micky Román, who is a venerated Mexican warrior in his own right, he probably doesn't get the result with a fresher Salido in the other corner. After that disparaging loss, he retired. Then, earlier this year, he recanted that knee-jerk appraisal of his ability to give & take going forward - but not only has a vaunted return match-up failed to materialize all year, but Salido also has bigger concerns now as he was elected state deputy of Sonora. In his capacity as regional politician, aligned with the platform of the Labor Party headed by his friend Andrés Manuel López Obrador (the incumbent President of Mexico) he is making a big push to reform mental health services, particularly for young people and with a special focus in suicide prevention. I really hope that he finds some gratification in helping out the citizens of his native state, and resists the urge to juggle public service with dragging his aging body into the ring on a part-time basis (ie following in the footsteps of a Vitali Klitschko and Manny Pacquiao). It seems like he is on his way to doing some good for others, and succumbing to macho pride (the only tempting force I could see catalyzing a return, as his financial position is presumably secure enough to rule out more venal causes) would do no good for him...and could potentially end with somebody far less deserving than Micky Román boasting an ill-gotten stoppage of the ornery scrapper (& master nonpareil of the "big filthy overhand right", as well as of bending the rule book until the leather-bound spine cracks as well as has anyone in a few generations, other than perhaps Bernard Hopkins) on their record.
Salido is without a doubt one of the greats of this era, and should be beloved. I'd much rather be in too many FOTY contenders to count than having an 0, and in this 0 obsessed era, he defied the odds and made a name for himself the good old fashioned way, merely by being the ****ing beast that he naturally is.
There ought to be pound for pound type lists of the most entertaining fighters in the sport. Salido was in seven fight of the year contenders. One of the most entertaining fighters ever.
Any fan of Lomachenko's who actually cares about his legacy should have given up hopes of him avenging that defeat by now. It wouldn't be creditable anymore - besides, he doesn't really need it. Had it happened in 2014/15/16/17 it could have benefited him, but the window is slammed irrevocably shut now. Instead of being a right type Lewis vs. Rahman II sort of repeat encounter, it would come across more of a Klitschko vs. Brewster II cringe-inducer. Hell, being a 14-years-running fan of his, I don't even want Salido to attempt to rematch Micky Román (a B+ fighter at most), let alone the A++++ Hi-Tek.
He would've stopped Mike Garcia in the championship rounds had the later not pulled a no mas because his poor nose was a wittle bit sore. Of that I am absolutely certain.
Bandeedo, the only languages I'm fluent in other than English are the languages of truth, logic, reason and facts.
Mikey should be eternally grateful to Saldildo for accidentally smashing his snozzle, because it gave him the excuse to get the nose job he's always secretly wanted.
