THE much-anticipated scrap between Orlando Salido (43-13-4, 30 KOs) and Takashi Miura (30-3-2, 23 KOs) is officially off the calendar, according to Golden Boy Promotions President, Eric Gomez.
Salido, the former two-division champion, was reporting back pain at camp and was advised by his medical team to sit out the rest of the year. There is no word as to how long he will remain inactive.
“It’s something with the sciatic nerve,” said Gomez to RingTV.com. “He started working out and getting ready for the fight and he had pain. He went to get it checked out and the doctor recommended that he doesn’t fight.”
Fight fans were beside themselves when the match between the two warriors was first announced. Salido has made a name for himself participating in one fight of the year candidate after another over the better part of the last decade.
His all-out battles against Marquez, Lopez, Gamboa, Garcia, Lomachenko, Vargas and Martinez were not pretty but have earned the rugged Mexican a loyal cult following.
Miura, a fan-favorite in his native Japan has followed a similar path. The Tokyo-based fighter, who hails from the renowned Teiken Boxing Gym, garnered international attention playing one-half of the duo that stole the crowd from Miguel Cotto and Canelo Alvarez in November of last year.
That war against Francisco Vargas netted numerous “Fight of the Year” awards and nominations, and generated a great deal of demand for another fight in the west. His match against Salido was supposed to be his much-anticipated return to the United States and international television.
A replacement for Miura has not been named, nor has there been an official statement from Golden Boy Promotions regarding whether or not Miura will remain on the card.
