“I am little disappointed that I am not fighting (Miguel) Berchelt for the WBC belt, but injuries are part of boxing and these things happen all the time,” Salido said at a media lunch in Los Angeles to announce the fight on Wednesday. “But a fight with Miguel Roman is a good fight and it should be an all-action Mexican war between two guys that will fight from start to finish.
“I’m very happy that I will be in the main event in Las Vegas, and I want to give the fans another great fight. I know I need to beat Roman to stay on course to fight for a world championship next year and that is what I intend to do on Dec. 9.”
“Roman is a good fighter, but, honestly, I don’t care who is in front of me. I always come to fight,” Salido said. “This is no exception. I’m rested and ready for another war.”
“I guess in a way I am competing against Lomachenko, who is also on a TV card that night, but anyone that knows about fighting will know which fight will have drama and excitement and which one will have dancing,” said Salido, who turned down offers to fight Lomachenko in a rematch for career-high money.
“I know this is a tough fight and I am going against a tough fighter, but I know what I am capable of and I believe that I will beat Salido,” Roman said. “This is not an easy fight for either one of us, and the biggest winners will be the fans. This is a great opportunity for me and will take full advantage of it.
“I’m going to knock him out. I’m preparing for what could be a savage war with Salido because he is a tough fighter. But that doesn’t scare me and I know that ultimately I will be the fighter to raise his hand in victory.”
“It reminds me a lot of [Erik] Morales versus [Marco Antonio] Barrera I, two Mexicans fighting at Mandalay Bay,” he said of the legendary junior featherweight unification fight in 2000 that served as the first match of their epic trilogy. “We knew it would be fight of the year. We have the same feeling for this fight. We believe we have another fight of the year.”
