Having a good amateur pedigree is good for a pro but did he really need to go through almost 400 amateur fights before turning pro? At some point is there too much of a good thing? especially coming into the lower weight classes older and with more wear and tear.
Yes. A strong amateur career is good, but if you want to turn pro, you shouldn't overstay your welcome at the amateurs. It's simple, really. The more pro fights you have, the more accustomed you are to pro Boxing. That type of experience is just better than amateur experience. Salido proved that Loma, despite his 400 amateur fights, was still wet behind the ears in regards to dirty fighting. A 30 pro fights under his belt would have adjusted better to that. Current Loma probably would have, as well. Fighting 3 round fights with larger gloves where love taps can get you points/wins is not what is going to prepare you for professional Boxing. Just look at Mexico. No ATG Mexican even has a single olympic gold medal, yet they're some of the greatest fighters the sport has produced. Chavez had like 15 amateur fights. But his manager was smart enough to pick specific opponents on his way up that would help him work and develop certain aspects of his game at a time, to round him up as a fighter. When the time came, he beat everyone's ass just as bad as Loma did. And he did it with 350 less fights than him.
