Hector Saldiva Plans To Crush Kell Brook’s Dream of Fighting Ricky Hatton

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    Martinez, Maidana, Matthysse: Is Hector Saldivia the next boxer from Argentina to stamp his name in boxing?

    Argentina has produced some exceptional talent in boxing Carlos Monzon, Carlos Baldomir, Sergio Martinez, Marcos Maidana, and Lucas Matthysse to name a few. Hector Saldivia of Argentina is looking to add his name to that list. Saldivia (41-2, 32 KO) has been on an eight fight win streak, all in Argentina against limited opposition. The last time he was on U.S. soil and fighting on a major card, it was for a WBA eliminator against Said Ouali on the Mayweather-Mosley undercard. Saldivia did great the first minute of the round, flooring Ouali, but then was put down by a beautiful counter right hook. He would go down twice and was stopped before the first round could end.

    Saldivia has the opportunity to try and make his mark again, advised by one of the best advisors in boxing in Sampson Lewkowicz of Samson Boxing. Saldivia finds himself right back in the mix with the #3 welterweight, “Special K” Kell Brook. Kell Brook’s July 7 fight with American Carson Jones was a eliminator for a supposed shot at the IBF welterweight title, but this isn’t a perfect world and sanctioning bodies need a way to charge their fee’s, hence the sanctioning body has ruled that Kell Brook must face Hector Saldivia of Argentina in a final eliminator before receiving a title shot. “I know this is a final eliminator for the IBF Championship title and that the winner of this bout will have the opportunity to fight for the world title. I know I’ll be going in to enemy territory. I also know how tough it is to win on foreign soil, so I’m preparing myself to the best of my ability to return to my home of Argentina victorious,” said Saldivia.

    Like his Argentine counter parts Saldivia has two losses; Maidana, Matthysse, Martinez all share the same blemishes on their records. The three men mentioned have shown growth after their setbacks; each making the necessary adjustment in the ring or in their corners. Changes have been made in the camp of Saldivia; the biggest being the relocation of training camp to the infamous Wild Card Gym. “I believe more than anything, it will be the tremendous amount of work I’ve put into my preparation here in the United States. I think that to date this has been my best training camp I’ve ever had in my career. My experience, my preparation, the sparring, and the amount of fights I’ve had; all will give me the edge on fight night. I will go to England with all the respect in the world and leave victorious,” explained Saldivia.

    World class fighters can be found training at the Wild Card. It’s just the type of fighters and experience a fighter needs to compete on the elite level. It’s possible this is what Saldivia lacked, the elite competition he has now gained in a gym amongst champions. This fight isn’t just Saldivia’s opportunity to shine but Brook’s as well. Brook was in a fight his last time out; he and Jones put on a massive showing but there were many that felt Brook should of won more convincingly, instead of a back and forth war with a “C” level fighter, “We’ve seen him in various fights various occasions, we’re working to capitalize on his defects. We’re doing a magnificent job in Wild Card Gym owned by Freddie Roach, along side of [Jose] Benavidez [Jr] and various other fighters. We’ve had the possibility to spar against Paul [“Paulie”] Malignaggi one of the champions in my weight division, as well as with Wale “Lucky Boy” Omotoso a undefeated fighter. We’ve been training with various fighters with a similar style to Kell Brook. I have faith everything will come out as planned and I suggest you bet on me,” added Saldivia.

    Saldivia is only known for being knocked out in that first round few years back, so he’s forced to travel across the pond to a hostile environment. “I am conscious of the fact that I am a visitor in Kell Brook’s back yard and I’m preparing to go to the United Kingdom to decisively win; God willing by knockout because I am aware of how hard it would be to win by decision. We are training for the full 12 rounds to have a grand battle and we hope it’s a spectacular performance in general for all the boxing public,” said Saldivia.

    Home town advantage can be crucial and a pivotal role in a fight, but being unknown and fighting majority of your fights in Argentina, you have to be ready for a opportunity like this. “I feel very good very happy; this is something we’ve been looking for various years now. This fight will open up the door to a future world title shot, so we are training better than ever for this new opportunity,” explained Saldivia.

    Kell Brook and Saldivia aren’t too different in my eyes, they both have mostly fought opposition from their respected countries, Brook gets slight credit for [Matthew] Hatton and Jones but let’s be honest, neither are world beaters. Saldivia we know less of, since all his fights have been in his home country and we know even less of them. One thing is sure, both these guys can crack, “I know who is Kell Brook I also know the record he has but I myself am a heavy handed puncher. Surely, this will be a great fight. I’m not thinking in a negative outcome, only positive, and that the fight goes in my favor so that I can go back to Argentina triumphantly. I feel much stronger then I’ve had in the past. I believe I’ll have more power in my punches because I’ve never trained as I have for this fight. The work that I’ve been able to get both physically and technically; I’ve never had this before and results of this work I’ve done in training will show in the ring,” explicated Saldivia.

    Leaving it up to the judges is never a option for a fighter taking a fight in the home town of the star to be. Brook’s is being groomed for big fights with the likes of Amir Khan and such fights can be lucrative; but he would need to win this fight and continue to win to do so. Could it be that Kell Brook (28-0, 18 KOs) is looking past Saldivia as he plans to pay close attention to the return of former junior welterweight champion and welterweight titlist Ricky Hatton, who is coming out of retirement in November. Brook would love a massive match up with Hatton, England’s biggest boxing star. These dreams can all come crashing down with the power of the Argentina slugger.

     

    For Full Audio Of This Interview Click Here:    http://www.blogtalkradio.com/thaboxingvoiceradioshow/2012/09/30/jos-sulaimn-president-wbc-hector-david-saldivia