Dominic Salcido, Contender On The Rise

By Igor Frank

Photo: William Trillo
 

Dominic Salcido is scheduled to face Vicente Escobedo on September 26^th, 2008 at

Morongo Resort and Casino in Cabazon, California in a battle of rising lightweight contenders. It is an intriguing match up that has local fight fans and media salivating.

Dominic is well known and well regarded in Southern California Gym circles. He has sparred with such ring grates as Marco Antonio Barrera, “Sugar” Shane Mosley, Vernon Forrest, Vivian Harris and Robbie Peden. Newly crowned WBC light welterweight champion Timothy Bradley publicly expressed a debt of gratitude to Dominic Salcido for helping him to get ready for his title challenge in England.

The former Coachella boxer Joel Diaz trains both fighters at his Indio boxing Gym. He revealed that both Tim and Dominic just might be two most talented fighters in this area since his brothers Julio and Antonio Diaz started their careers. “Dominic has faster hands than Julio, but both can crack with the left or right,” says Diaz: “He has fun in the ring but he takes it seriously.”

Dominic lives in Rialto and drives 150 miles to Indio and back each day to train under Diaz.” The kid never let’s up. Nobody works harder than Dominic,” says Diaz of his charge.  Bradley has already proven himself by wining a title in England under very adverse circumstances.

Could Dominic be next?

Many, including his promoter Ken Thompson, who signed Salcido to an exclusive contract in April of 2006, feel that he is destined to be a champ. While in high demand for sparring by some of the best boxers in the world for his sleek moves and high intensity punching, Dominic was able to further develop his own style of agility and boxing that is the epitome of the sweet science.

His father Dominic Sr. said that he was a great soccer player and he brought him to a boxing gym at the age of ten out of curiosity. Dominic used his soccer skills when he started to box and used his feet and moved a lot in the ring. He had about eighty amateur fights but politics prevented him from attaining his Olympic dreams. Nothing is going to stop him now.” I have been waiting for this opportunity for a long time,” said Dominic referring to his upcoming fight. He is on a mission to get ranked and become a second world champion from young Thompson Boxing promotional company.

He has an unblemished record as a professional with 16 wins and no losses and eight wins by way of knock out. Dominic is twenty four years old and he turned professional five years ago but due to managerial problems and injuries, he has progressed slower than he wanted. He believes that everything happens for a reason and that now is his time to shine.

2007 has been the busiest year of Dominic’s professional career: he has fought seven times, mostly at Doubletree Hotel in Ontario gaining popularity among faithful Inland Empire fans. Alex Componovo, match maker for Thompson Boxing Promotions, does not believe in babying their fighters, so after Domenic registered two first round knock outs in June and August of 2007 he had to go the distance with his last two opponents Saul Ochoa and Luis Arceo and was able to show his conditioning and skills. Dominic is a complete fighter; he can box and punch and move around the ring and he presents problems to any body in a talent rich lightweight division. He told me that he is always doing his road work and is planning to start his training camp next week.

Stay tuned for Dominic’s training camp notes, after I visit his gym.