Orlando Salido v Orlando Cruz

In the first of two world title fights in the US this weekend Mexican Orlando Salido (40-12-2-1, 28) defeated his namesake Orlando Cruz (20-3-1, 10) and claimed the WBO Featherweight title as we added yet another chapter to the excellent Mexico/Puerto Rico rivalry.

Unfortunately this wasn't one of those legendary Mexico/Puerto Rican contests however as it seemed one sided from the off with Cruz fighting like, and looking like a beaten man before the opening bell. In fact Cruz almost seemed to refuse to look at Salido as the referee gave his final instructions.

The opening round further saw Cruz looking scared. He tried to jab and move though looked apprehensive from the off, almost as if he was terrified of being hit by Salido whilst Salido himself seemed to be trying to figure out what he had in front of him.Although the first round was quiet from both men it was certainly a round that Salido won by virtue of doing something as opposed to nothing.

After taking the opening round Salido went on a roll taking rounds 2,3 and 4 as he moved up through the gears letting shots go up close and walking through the weak looking attack of Cruz who appeared almost scared of putting his weight behind a shot. The fact Cruz didn't have the fire power to keep Salido honest saw the Mexican coming in and unloading to the body and head at will, with the body a very clear target early on.

By the end of round 4 the body work of Salido seemed to be paying dividends as Cruz began to hold his feet. It appeared as if the end was nigh though Cruz then had his best round in round 5 as he moved well and clearly won the round making Salido look clumsy. It was odd that Cruz, who had started to slow in round 4 would have his best round in the fifth though it was a sign of the Puerto Rican's heart.

Unfortunately for Cruz it was fair to say that the fourth round was his successful one as Salido turned it on in round 6 with a very intelligent and accurate attack. The ineffectiveness of round 5 was well forgotten as Salido walked him down and landed some lovely combinations as he destroyed what was left of Cruz's confidence

Although Cruz was still standing at the end of the sixth he was starting to get beaten up and whilst he was showing fantastic heart his body was starting to break down. The destruction of Cruz's body was complete in the seventh with a devastating body that left him down in agony forcing the referee to wave it off.

With Vasyl Lomachenko getting past Jose Ramirez on the undercard it would appear likely that Salido will be defending against the Ukrainian superstar. For Cruz however this almost certainly ends his dream of ever being a world champion

Orlando Salido v Miguel Angel Garcia

Talented 25 year old Miguel Angel "Mikey" Garcia (31-0, 26) showed just what an outstanding young fighter he was as he thoroughly dominated Orlando Salido (39-12-2-1, 27) and claimed both the Ring and WBO Featherweight titles via an 8th round technical decision that few could really complain with.

The opening round was eye opening to say the least as Salido was dropped twice with Garcia's power, speed and accuracy really being the distance. Garcia's jab and straight right were simply keeping Salido too far away for the Mexican to have any success whilst he was putting Salido down almost every time he landed a clean shot.

Garcia's clear domination continued through to round 6 with Salido being dropped in both rounds 3 and 4 from sharp accurate shots. This left Garcia well up on the cards having had 2 10-8 rounds and a 10-7 round, though Salido's heart was impressive and he refused to just quit, instead he started to slowly get in to the fight and appeared to claim round 7 as he managed to successfully get inside Garcia for the first time.

Unfortunately the fight came to a premature end in round 8 after Garcia dominated much of the round, the crude Salido followed through after a punch and connected with an accidental headbutt that sadly broke the nose of Garcia. The accidental foul forced the Dr to call an early end to proceedings as we went to the scorecards and the decision was a clear technical unanimous decision in favour of Garcia who was rightfully crowned the champion.

The clear dominance by Garcia really did open the eyes of the boxing world who may well have seen a new star born tonight. A rematch with Salido is possible, if Salido wants to be beaten up again though a more likely fight could be with Daniel Ponce De Leon in what would be an excellent unification bout allowing Garcia to again show his impressive skills against a veteran title holder.