Photo by Tom Hogan/Hogan Photos/Golden Boy Promotions

3 Keys to Victory for Orlando “Siri” Salido

Saturday night, former three-time world champion Orlando “Siri” Salido (43-13-3, 30 KOs) will be challenging the WBC super featherweight champion Francisco “El Bandido” Vargas (23-0-1, 17 KOs).

This fight is a must see event and on paper, is almost a guaranteed Fight of the Year candidate. While Vargas is coming off a spectacular FOTY victory over Takashi Miura, Salido is coming off two tough fights against Roman Martinez.

This is a much-anticipated fight against two heavy-hitting Mexican warriors. While Vargas is undefeated, Salido is a hard fighter to prepare for because he simply does not quit.

Saturday night we are all in for a treat. The Stub Hub Center has been home of some of the most epic fights of the era and I am expecting nothing less from Orlando Salido vs. Francisco Vargas.

Here are three keys to victory for the veteran Orlando Salido over undefeated Francisco Vargas.

Using Angles

Photo by Showtime

Orland “Siri” Salido has the ability to throw an array of punches at different angles, which makes him an extremely difficult fighter to gauge in the ring.

Siri is master of sideway movement making him very unpredictable. If he can effectively use his angles, he has the ability to frustrate Francisco Vargas.

By using angles to his advantage, Salido will be able to work the ring and effectively use his crafty counterpunching to keep Vargas guessing. One of Salido’s biggest weapons is his counterpunching–he throws wide but extremely accurate shots over the top.

Using angles on Saturday night against Vargas is key in both keeping Vargas on his toes, as well as setting up his precise counterpunches.

Intelligent Pressure

Photo by Zanfer Promotions

While Orlando Salido is a midrange fighter, he also applies great pressure. Salido needs to be mindful of Francisco Vargas’s heavy hands, avoiding getting hit too much, but also applying pressure when the opportunity presents itself. If he is able to do so effectively, he will have the ability to cause great havoc Saturday night.

A lot of Salido’s fights end up being all-out wars, but he often gets hit too much and dropped too often–possibly the reason why he has lost some close and even controversial decisions.

Saturday night, Salido needs to combine intelligent pressure with a little less killer instinct and a little more ring IQ. If he does this, Salido will be able to land, yet take less punishment from Vargas.

Dictate the Pace

Photo by Naoki Fukada

Orlando Salido needs to control the pace of the fight, making Francisco Vargas fight every minute of every round.

One way Salido can do so is remembering to use his jab. While he is known to be an attacking fighter, when Salido uses the jab to work his way in, he is much more effective.

If Salido is able to dictate the pace, keeping Vargas at bay by using his jab effectively and attacking when the opportunity presents itself, he will avoid taking any unnecessary punishment and will be able to take control of the fight.