Orlando "Siri" Salido will make the first defense of his WBO featherweight trinket on July 23 in Ciudad Obregón, Mexico, says MaxBoxing's Steve Kim. No opponent has been named, but the fight will be televised on Fox Sports Net.
Salido (35-11-2, 23 KO) upset Juan Manuel Lopez in Puerto Rico on April 16, taking Lopez's belt and his perfect record. Lopez's team wanted an immediate rematch in August, but Salido from day one intended to take a July "victory lap" sort of defense at home in Mexico, and that plan will hold.
Should Salido win, it's still likely he'll rematch Lopez this fall. Top Rank and Lopez both want the rematch, but Top Rank is content to wait a little while, even against Lopez's wishes. Lopez has also said he intends to train in Florida from now on to get away from distractions in Puerto Rico, which Bob Arum and others noted might have been a major problem for him in April, when Salido pretty well beat the hell out of Lopez and forced a referee stoppage in the eighth round.
Most likely the 30-year-old Salido won't be facing a very serious challenge in July. The May 2011 WBO rankings are both hilarious and filled with plenty of "easy" fights for Salido to take out of the top 15, including Daulis Prescott (22-0, 17 KO), Joel Brunker (18-0, 12 KO), Nicholas Walters (17-0, 14 KO) and Antonio Escalante (24-4, 15 KO). How Escalante maintains his position despite being knocked loopy in both of his last two fights is beyond me, but that's alphabet rankings for you.