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Salinas ready to rumble again after a year off
South Side fighter
to take on Cupul
in Atlantic City
By Greg Gulas
YOUNGSTOWN
It has been almost exactly a year since Alejandro “Popo” Salinas last fought.
The South Side Boxing Club fighter’s 364-day layoff is scheduled to end Saturday in Atlantic City, N.J., where Salinas will meet Pablo Cupul in a six-round, super featherweight matchup. It is one of 13 bouts on the Rising Star Promotions card at Showboat Hotel and Casino, the group that recently added Salinas — a Youngstown native — to its fighting lineup.
Salinas (9-2, 8 KO’s) will be looking to erase the sour taste he’s carried for nearly a year after suffering a unanimous, eight-round decision to a then undefeated Sulaiman Segawa at St. Lucy’s Palermo Banquet Center in Campbell. It was a fight that went on despite his being under the weather for several weeks prior to the fight.
“I have no excuses. I was sick, it was bad timing, but I didn’t care,” Salinas said. “I took the fight because I wanted to show people that I don’t care if I am sick, I’m still going to fight. I’m not going to show anyone that I am scared or afraid of anyone. The only man I fear is God. We just had a bad day.”
Trainer Jack Loew blames himself for the loss to Segawa.
“I went wrong,” Loew said. “I made a mistake and I know that it is going to sound like an excuse, but it’s not. Jack Loew, the promoter, said the show must go on with Alejandro when Jack Loew, the trainer, should have said no.
“Popo was sick for two weeks. He had a fever, was on antibiotics and even on antibiotics the night of the fight. He assured me that he was all right, but I shouldn’t have let him make that decision. Would I fight Segawa again? Absolutely. I think Popo is better than him, but he wasn’t that night. I should have pulled him and just let the card go on.”
Salinas stayed away from the gym for four months after the loss.
“I told him to take some time away because this is not a sport that you do halfway, and that’s what Popo was doing at the time,” Loew said. “During his time away, I think that he did a lot of soul searching, a lot of thinking and realized that he still wants boxing.
“He’s doing really well, has been sparring for the last seven months and that’s more than I’ve ever had anyone do, so his sharpness is to a point that it has never been. I think we’ve gained a lot.”
Salinas said he realized in the fall that he still needed boxing in his life.
“I kind of fell off with the sport so I needed time to think and process everything,” he said. “When I took that break, I kept thinking was this the sport I really want to do the rest of my life? Do I have the heart and proper mindset?
“I know that I have the ability to fight but was my heart and mind there? That question was answered last September as I was out of the ring for a while. I felt good so I asked Jack if I could come back.”
Cupul (10-28, 5 KO’s) has lost to all 11 undefeated opponents he has faced. He is 4-12 against opponents with two or fewer losses.
“Cupul is very experienced and that is what we will be going up against Saturday evening,” Loew said. “You look over his record and see the undefeated boxers that he has faced, going the distance with many of them. That’s the key.
“I want to see where Popo’s head is. I want to see how he reacts to someone that will elbow him, rough him up a bit and make it a rough fight for him. I need to see how he handles some things.”
Salinas said he’s ready to fight again.
“I feel comfortable in knowing that I can throw punches, dip and dodge and move around when I am in the ring,” he said.
“I am prepared and ready to go.”