The first openly gay boxer in history, Orlando Cruz of Puerto Rico, has failed in his attempt to become the first gay world boxing champion after he was knocked out in the seventh round by Orlando Salido on Saturday at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas.
Cruz, who admitted his sexual orientation last year, was in the first title fight of his career and lost to Mexico's Salido, a two-time featherweight champion who has been fighting in the ring for the past 17 years.
The Guardian.com reports that the title fight started slow with both man preferring to hold back on their punches. The second round was more action packed as the protagonists applied pressure on each other with Saludo using his orthodox stance while Cruz using his footwork and quickness to box out of trouble.
The Mexican, the website narrates, established control of the fight using his right hand, at one time snapping Cruz's head back on impact. Salido used left hooks to the ribcage and to the face to follow up the big shot. Cruz, on the other hand, used his counter right hook to keep Salido at bay.
In the fifth round, Salido found himself in the ropes as Cruz applied more pressure and became the aggressor. The gay boxer landed three punch combinations on the Mexican to complete his best round.
But Salido regained momentum in the sixth by using his power and targeting Cruz's chest. In the seventh round, Cruz caught a looping right hand then a left uppercut from Salido which brought him kissing the canvass. The match was over at 1:05 in the seventh round.
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