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Loew, Salinas talk boxing at Curbstone Coaches luncheon
By Greg Gulas
AUSTINTOWN
The boxing game has been known to take a brief hiatus around holiday time, but local trainer Jack Loew will take anything but a break over the next month as he puts the final touches on his upcoming pro-am card.
Slated for Dec. 19 at St. Peter and Paul Ukranian Orthodox Hall, 1025 N. Belle Vista Road, Loew’s upcoming “Season’s Beatings” card will feature Popo Salinas as the main event and Vic Toney the co-main with four professional and eight amateur bouts on tap.
Addressing the Curbstone Coaches during Monday’s weekly meeting at Lucianno’s Restaurant, Loew added that the Saturday before Christmas is perfect timing for his event.
“It’s usually a slow time for boxing around the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays, so my goal is to keep something going and we have a 12-bout card that I feel is very attractive for local boxing fans,” he said.
“Popo has learned a lot from his first professional loss back in September, has moved forward and is ready to get back into the ring.”
Loew calls Salinas one of just two boxers that he he’s trained over the years that he has labeled a “can’t miss.”
“I have said it many times before and I’ll say it again, I have had many fighters over the years but two fighters when they first started out, Kelly Pavlik and now Popo, had all of the skills to become a world champion,” Loew said.
“We all know how Kelly fought his way to the middleweight championship of the world. Now, Popo is making a name for himself as he climbs up the ladder in the lightweight division.”
Salinas, 20, first entered Loew’s South Side Boxing Club facility as a 7-year-old, beginning a storied amateur career the following year that produced a 79-12 overall mark.
He’s 3-1 as a professional after dropping a split decision to Oscar Duarte his last time out back on Sept. 18 in Los Angeles.
It’s a fight in which he says he was humbled, yet one that taught him a valuable lesson as he walked out of the ring.
“After my fight with Duarte, I learned that there are other good fighters out there,” he said. “I got too comfortable in my own shoes and didn’t give thought to the fact that there are other boxers at my level.
“My goal since that time has been to get back on track. I’ve realized that not every fight ends in a KO, so I’ve concentrated on just getting back to boxing. I’ll use my speed and whenever the chance presents itself, then that’s when I will go with my power.”
According to Loew, some things happen for a reason in the sport and Salinas’ loss might have come at just the right time.
“If you look back, Ray ‘Boom Boom’ Mancini’s first loss came in a title fight while Kelly’s [Pavlik] initial loss came late in his career,” he said. “Those losses changed the money structure for future fights for them while Popo’s loss just four fights into his professional career only takes the ‘Big O’ off the right side of his record.
“When a loss like that happens early in someone’s career, they either want to work harder or give up on the sport that hasn’t yet to develop. In Popo’s case, he was humbled, has worked hard in the gym and is now chomping at the bit to get back into the ring.”
Tickets for Loew’s “Season’s Beatings” event are $20 for general admission and $50 ringside, while a table of eight is $400.
Gates will open at 6 p.m. with the first fight hitting the bell at 7:30 p.m.
Further information can be obtained by calling Loew at 330-501-5713.
There will be no Curbstone Coaches luncheon next Monday.