Salido: ‘Time takes its toll, and obviously I just couldn’t do it’

LAS VEGAS (Dec. 9, 2017): Miguel “Mickey” Roman (58-13, 45 KOs) brought new life to his career with a spectacular and dominant ninth-round technical knockout victory against four-time, two division world champion Orlando “Siri” Salido (44-14, 31 KOs) in a Fight of the Year Candidate and main event of HBO Boxing After Dark at Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas. Roman, a native of Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, scored knockdowns in rounds four and eight before the fight was finally stopped at 1:43 of the ninth round after a fight-finishing flurry sent Salido to the canvas for the last time in his career. 

“It’s my moment, and I want to fight against any champion,” said Roman. “I was doing everything well, even though everything is always against me. But things will change from now on. That’s why I want any champion at featherweight or super featherweight, but on HBO. The new camp, the good work we did, the good training–those changes made the difference and we are all able to see that tonight. Nobody knew, but if I lost, I would have retired. It was very important to fight against a great champion like Orlando Salido and win.”

“I’ve beaten young fighters before, but this time it was a matter of age,” said Salido. “Time takes its toll, and obviously I just couldn’t do it. This was my last fight. Thank you to all, to those who will remember me for all the great fights that I had, and to the people who have followed me.”