“I am just an old fighter now,” the 37-year-old Salido said in a heartfelt manner.
“On Saturday night I let my emotions and my frustration get the best of me,” Salido said from his home in Phoenix. “It was a tough fight, and I was not able to do some of [the] things [I’ve] always been able to do in the ring that I attributed to my age and wear and tear on my body from so many wars.
“But after coming home and reviewing my camp and the fight, I realized that my weight issues were also part of the problem on Saturday night. I came into camp at the highest weight ever, and our focus became the weight and the boxing became secondary during training camp.”
“I felt that I left my fight at the scale,” Salido said. “No excuse, but one fight in 18 months did not help me stay in shape, and getting to the weight was the biggest concern for my fight, and while I am happy with the fight that I gave the fans, I truly believe that I can do better, so I am keeping my options open to returning in 2018 at 130 or 135 pounds. Sometime after a fight and in the heat of the moment, things are said that, upon reflection, are not the correct things to say. I want to get back into the ring to give my fans some more thrills as I believe I still have some good boxing left.”