Popo Salinas gets another chance to prove himself at the Covelli Centre

July 16, 2016 at 12:10a.m.

Popo Salinas gets another shot to prove himself as a big-time boxer

With a win in California last September, maybe Alejandro “Popo” Salinas wouldn’t be preparing for a main feature fight outside Covelli Centre in Youngstown on July 23.

Maybe he’d be signed to a major promoter; maybe he wouldn’t have to wake up at 4 a.m. every weekday for his job at National Heat Exchange; heck, maybe he’d be out of Youngstown and on to a bigger market by now.

Basically — with a win instead of a loss to Oscar Duarte in Los Angeles on Sept. 18 in front of boxing’s top labels — maybe Popo would be on an easier path to national success.

But here is the 21-year-old lightweight, set to fight DeVonte Allen (8-2-1) for the Ohio Title as the top fight of “Championship Night” presented by Jack Loew’s Southside Boxing Club — still chasing his big-time boxing aspirations.

“He’s boxing and working 40 hours-a-week now in a steel mill,” said Loew, Salinas’ trainer. “So he’s taking the tough road as a lot of others did. It could have been a lot easier for him, but he knows he blew a golden opportunity and now he just has to work harder — and he has.”

So, as Salinas (5-1) prepares for next weekend’s 130-pound eight-round fight against the slick Cincinnati native — a matchup that Loew calls “a real fight and a huge step-up” — he has a goal in mind.

“I want to make a big impact in this fight so that [major promoters] have no choice but to accept me in a big company,” Salinas said. “I want to make a big impact where they’re like, ‘Oh he knocked this kid out. This kid is unstoppable.’”

LEARNING LESSON

When Salinas takes center stage on Saturday for the final bout of an eight-fight show card, he realizes he’ll be taking on the role as the city’s new prize fighter.

“It’s a lot of pressure,” he said. “It’s gonna be packed, a good crowd. It’s at the Covelli Centre — Kelly [Pavlik] fought there [in 2006 and 2009] and some other good fighters did too. So just to know that I’m fighting there and have that privilege, it’s awesome.”

Salinas fought a high-pressure fight before, although he didn’t quite realize it at the time.

When he went out to L.A.’s Belasco Theater to take on Duarte (who is now 6-0-1), Loew says Salinas approached the bout with little urgency and instead, “With the attitude that Golden Boy was gonna hand him a win and sign him to this big contract. It obviously didn’t go that way.”

He went the distance, but lost to the Mexican by split-decision.

“What I learned from it is not every fight is gonna be a knockout,” said Salinas, whose wins have all came by knockout so far. “I learned that I have to take my time and have patience.”

Added Loew: “He has to be 100 percent ready and professional about things. These kids coming out of amateurs that do so well (Popo was the top-ranked amateur at 16-years-old), they think that’s gonna carry them through for the whole pro career. ...But you can’t just rest on your laurels and what you’ve accomplished in the past. I think that fight really woke him up.”

Following, Popo responded with two wins at Ukrainian Hall in Youngstown: one in December and another in March.

Clearly, the young man who awakes in the middle of the night for work until 3 p.m. and follows that with a gym and running session — which he admits, “It’s tough. It keeps you occupied, but not the way I want to be” — speaks like a focused fighter nowadays.

“I’m training hard, but I’m gonna have to put more time into it, more effort into it and make sure I beat this kid,” Salinas said on July 9. “I’m always in shape — there’s never a flaw that I have. But I have to pick up on new things every time and always learn.”

‘IT’S A BREAKOUT FIGHT’

Is Allen the ideal opponent for Salinas right now? Loew says no.

Even more, is Loew afraid of the challenges that Allen — who the longtime trainer considers Popo’s toughest opponent yet — has to offer? Not exactly, but...

“He’s right-handed, he’s left-handed — he’s a very awkward kid,” Loew said. “They sometimes make for very difficult fights, so you kind of stay away from them. Not because of his ability to beat your guy, but the ability to make your guy look bad that night — cut them, things like that.

“But as far as being ready for him talent-wise, hands down we’re OK with it.”

Still, here’s the facts: Allen has seven knockouts in his eight wins. At 27, he’s six years older than Salinas. And word is, the Cincy fighter has been itching to take-on Popo.

“It’s a breakout fight for Popo, especially at this stage of his career,” Loew said. “For little money and on a little stage, he’s fighting a real kid.

“Usually at this stage of their career, you try to build their record up a little bit — try to get them the right fights. But I think because of Popo’s long amateur background and because of what we think of him, I don’t think we’re stepping out of our league by fighting DeVonte.”

A quality win against a foe like Allen is just the formula to get Salinas back on track for a major promoter deal, which Loew believes can happen by years end if all goes well. He mentioned Top Rank or Al Haymon (Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s adviser/manager) as possibilities.

“Talking to Top Rank, they told me to get him to 9-1 — and I think they will sign him,” Loew said. “Half the job is already done with him and he’s just a good-looking kid. Top Rank thrives on stuff like that.”

But right now, Popo is thriving off hard-work and a newfound focus since his missed opportunity in California. And Youngstown gets to see it front and center Saturday night.

“After all the fights and the struggles,” Salinas said, “that I finally get a title fight and it’s at the Covelli Centre, it’s a dream come true.”