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3 up, 3 down for ‘Popo’
By Ryan McGlade
Youngstown
Three fights. Three first-round knockouts. The latest edition of said results for Youngstown lightweight Alejandro “Popo” Salinas came against Jose Jimenez last Saturday in Erie, Pa.
With one second remaining in the opening round, Salinas knocked down Jimenez for the third and final time. Southside Boxing Club owner Jack Loew wanted Salinas to first see what moves Jimenez had and then begin his attack.
Salinas didn’t follow the plan, though.
“He went right across the ring and proceeded to beat this kid corner to corner,” Loew said.
On the morning of the match, Jimenez told Salinas their bout was going to be the best of the night. In other words, Jimenez was going to give Salinas everything he had. This led to Salinas doing away with Loew’s “feel-out” strategy and instead attacking Jimenez from the start of the match.
Nonetheless, Loew was impressed with Salinas’ performance.
“[Salinas] looked good 90 percent of the time,” he said. “You know, got a little amateurish, little wild at points, but I think it was just the adrenaline flowing.”
As far as what’s next for the boxer, Loew said one option is to have Salinas sign with Top Rank or Golden Boy, which are promotional companies.
“If we get a call from Top Rank or Golden Boy within the next two weeks, then we’re gonna roll with that,” Loew said. “We’re going to see where that takes us and we’re gonna obviously do what they want us to do and when they want us to do it, and that’ll be kind of a fast track.”
Of the two promotional companies, Loew prefers Top Rank, but certainly won’t turn away from Golden Boy.
“If you’d ask me to list them, I want Top Rank first,” Loew said. “I want Golden Boy second. If we had to take Golden Boy first I wouldn’t frown on it that’s for sure.
“I’m just used to Top Rank. I’ve seen what they’ve done with numerous fighters, some of the best and biggest in the business, in the world.”
If Salinas does not sign with either promotional company, Loew has five potential matches lined up for him between July and November.
Loew noted that Salinas’ maturity in the ring makes him a standout boxer.
“He’s very mature in the ring,” Loew said. “He’s very comfortable in the ring. He doesn’t breathe real hard, he relaxes.”
Vincent O’Neill, who has been boxing with Salinas for about 10 years, said him being relentless has helped Salinas become the fighter he is.
“When I’m in top form, I’m coming, he’s coming, and it can get real heated up in there,” O’Neill said. “At the same time, I got the same mentality of, ‘You’re not gonna hurt me.’ Sometimes, Popo, I can see that frustrate him because he’ll hit me a couple good times and I just come forward.
“Having that person in front of you who’s just gonna take everything that you dish out let’s you know that when the time comes, and you run into that person that you’re hitting with everything and he’s gonna keep comin’ and you’re not hurtin’ him, you have what it takes to be like, ‘OK, now I have to work.’”