Francisco “El Bandido” Vargas (23-0-1, 17 KOs) and Orlando “Siri” Salido (43-13-3, 30 KOs, 1 NC) hosted the final press conference ahead of their 12-round showdown Saturday, June 4 at the StubHub Center and televised live on HBO Boxing AfterDark.
They were joined by undefeated Julian “El Camaron” Ramirez (16-0, 8 KOs) and Abraham “Chamaco” Lopez (20-0-1, 15 KOs), who will meet in the ring for the vacant NABA Featherweight Title in the co-main event on June 4.
Undercard fighters were also on hand for today’s final press conference including “King”Gabriel Rosado (22-9, 13 KOs) of Philadelphia and Tijuana’s Antonio “Tony” Gutierrez (20-1-1, 9 KOs) who will face off for a 10-round middleweight bout; Christian “Chimpa” Gonzalez (13-0, 12 KOs) of Buena Park, Calif. who will fight for his first title, the WBC Youth Super Featherweight Title in an eight-round bout; Nick Arce (7-0, 6 KOs) who will battle in a six-round super featherweight bout; Jonathan “Thunder” Navarro (5-0, 4 KOs) who is scheduled for a six-round super lightweight bout; Genaro Gamez (1-0, 1 KO) of San Diego who will fight in a four-round lightweight bout; Oscar Duarte (4-0, 2 KOs) of Parral, Mexico who will face off in a four-round lightweight bout; and Cesar Diaz of Palmdale, Calif. who will make his professional debut.
FRANCISCO “EL BANDIDO” VARGAS, WBC Super Featherweight World Champion:
“We know that June 4 is nearly here. I know Orlando has trained hard like I have to give the fans a great fight. You definitely do not want to miss this fight.
“If you can’t be there in person, tune in to HBO Boxing After Dark on Saturday night.”
GUILLERMO BECERRIL, Trainer to Francisco Vargas:
“The time is here. We are ready and prepared very well. We will see you on Saturday night.”
RALPH HEREDIA, Manager to Francisco Vargas:
“Thank you to Golden Boy, HBO and the WBC family. I want everyone to know that we respect Salido. He is a great warrior and has been in great fights. We know he will be ready.
“This also shows the commitment HBO has to make great fights with Golden Boy. The fans have responded because this is guaranteed to be an action-packed fight.
Not just as a manager but also as a fan of the sport, I am excited for this fight.”
ORLANDO “SIRI” SALIDO, Former Three-Time World Champion:
“Thank you to Golden Boy, HBO and everyone involved and to Team Vargas for giving me this opportunity. I’m sure I am going to take this title to Ciudad Obregon in Mexico.”
FERNANDO BELTRAN, President and CEO of Zanfer Promotions:
“It’s a real pleasure to be here. This is going to be a war. It’s a tremendous fight. We have a great fighter and a great champion with Orlando Salido. We believe he won the fight against Rocky Martinez.
“We want to bring the belt home. A lot of great Mexicans have had this belt, and Orlando wants to add his name to the list.”
JOSE SANTOS MORENO, Trainer to Orlando Salido:
“With a little luck and a hard training camp, Orlando should be the winner of the fight on Saturday night.”
SEAN GIBBONS, Manager to Orlando Salido:
“Thank you to the best comission in boxing, California State Athletic Commission and Andy Foster. Thank you to HBO and Peter Nelson. Saturday night, Orlando Salido will add his name to list of many great fighters in the sport.”
JULIAN “EL CAMARRON” RAMIREZ, Undefeated Featherweight Contender:
“I’m ready for this fight. I trained hard and I know Abraham did, too. I want to give credit to Abraham for stepping up to take this fight and put his undefeated record on the line.
“Fighting on HBO is a dream come true. It’s going to be a great night of boxing on Saturday. See you there.”
ABRAHAM “CHAMACO” LOPEZ, Undefeated Featherweight Contender:
“I’m here and I’m ready. I know Julian and I will give a great performance for the fans. It’s going to be a fantastic fight.”
“KING” GABRIEL ROSADO, Top Middleweight Contender:
“Thank you to my trainer Fernando Vargas. We had a good camp. I’m not taking my opponent lightly.”
ANTONIO “TONY” GUTIERREZ, Top Middleweight Contender:
“Fans – don’t miss this fight. It’s going to be great.”
CHRISTIAN “CHIMPA” GONZALEZ, Top Super Featherweight Prospect:
“Thank you to the media, Golden Boy Promotions, my manager and family. I’m excited and motivated for this fight. I’m ready. Get your tickets and I’ll wait for you guys on June 4.”
NICK ARCE, Top Super Featherweight Prospect:
“Thank you for making the time to be here today. I’d like to thank my team for always pushing me 100 percent and to Golden Boy for always putting me on great undercards. I feel strong and happy and ready to go for Saturday.”
JONATHAN “THUNDER” NAVARRO, Top Super Lightweight Prospect:
“Thank you for supporting this event and thanks to Golden Boy for the opportunity. I had a great training camp, and I’m ready to give the fans what they want and that is an action-packed fight.”
