According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, former Featherweight champion Orlando Salido will take on Orlando Cruz for a vacant Featherweight title on October 12th as part of the Timothy Bradley – Juan Manuel Marquez card in Las Vegas.
“We’re very happy to have this fight on the card,” said Top Rank’s Bob Arum. “Sean Gibbons (Salido’s manager) says there is no way Salido is losing and the other side says there is no way that Cruz doesn’t beat Salido because they say he is a shot fighter. I think it’s a good competitive fight and an interesting fight.”
“For Salido, he has fared well against southpaws from Puerto Rico [Lopez] and won’t be at all intimidated by the magnitude of this event,” Top Rank vice president Carl Moretti said. “For Cruz, this is clearly his toughest fight of his career. He is already a champion outside the ring for standing up and proclaiming his openness.”
Arum said Cruz being the first openly gay fighter is no issue for him and has nothing to do with how he will promote the fight.
“I couldn’t give a s— if he’s gay, straight, whatever,” Arum said. “I don’t even give it a second thought. We’re not going to make it part of our publicity. For me, it’s a non-issue. Who cares about his sexual orientation? I care if he can fight. When a guy first comes out of the closet, OK, so maybe it’s a story and I can see why it might be news. But once that happens, it’s not news any more as far as I am concerned.
“It’s a very good opportunity for us,” said All-Star Boxing promoter Tuto Zabala Jr., who promotes Cruz and said he signed the contract for the fight on Monday night. “It’s a great platform to be on. [Cruz] has been in training camp and will be in the best shape in his career. I believe Orlando has all the tools to defeat Salido and become the first gay fighter to win a world title.”
