By Ian S Palmer
The WBO Interim Super Featherweight Championship will be up for grabs this Saturday, September 20 when Orlando Salido of Mexico takes on southpaw Terdsak Kokietgym of Thailand at the Auditorio Municipal Fausto Gutierrez Moreno in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico. The 12-round bout can be live in the U.S. seen on the Azteca/BeIn Espanol networks.
The 33-year-old Kokietgym enters the bout with a record of 53-4-1 along with 33 Kos while the 33-year-old Salido climbs into the ring with a mark of 41-12-2 with 28 Kos to his name. Salido may have a dozen losses on his record, but he’s been in with some of the toughest fighters around and has lost several close decisions along the way. His last bout was a close 12-round split decision win over Vasyl Lomachenko back on March 1. Kokietgym last fought in April and won a 10-round unanimous decision over Rene Bestudio.
Salido isn’t shy in the ring as he’ll gladly take a few shots to land some of his own. He’s aggressive, tough and likes to attack as much as possible, especially on the inside. He’s got pretty good power and also has a solid chin even though he’s been stopped five times during his eventful 18-year career. Kokietgym also likes to let his hands go and has comparable power, so there’s a good chance this fight doesn’t go the distance.
Salido gets the edge when it comes to experience since he’s fought some top boxer in Juan Manuel Lopez, Orlando Cruz, Mikey Garcia, Lamont Peterson, Robert Guerrero, Cristobal Cruz and Yuriorkis Gamboa. This bout is for the interim title since Garcia is the regular champion, but he’s been sidelined by an injury. The veteran Salido may sometimes bend the rules during his fights and this is something Kokietgym will have to learn to deal with if he hopes to come out on top. However, Kokietgym could have some tricks of his own in the ring since he’s had more pro fights than Salido.
Kokietgym has lost just four fights in his pro career and they’ve all been in world title shots or elimination bouts. He’s been beaten by the likes of joan Guzman, Steve Luevano, Takahiro Ao, and Juan Manuel Marquez. He’s been stopped just once, by Marquez in the seventh round in 2006. He has a tough job on his hands though as he’s fighting Salido in his opponent’s back yard. He’s obviously hoping that it doesn’t go to the scorecards since it’s going to be hard to come away with a decision unless he completely dominates the Mexican. Salido stands 5-feet-6-inches tall with a 67-inch reach while Kokietgym is 5-foot-5 with a 64.5-inch reach.
Prediction
This should be an exciting fight as both boxers like to move forward and throw punches in bunches. There could be a knockdown or two along the way, but Kokietgym seems to be too tough to stop. However, if Salido’s chin can’t take his power there’s a chance Salido will be the one on the canvas. The likely scenario will see Salido taking a close and perhaps controversial decision in an entertaining brawl.
