Vicente Saldivar: The Subtle Storm

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Within the annals of boxing history, even the greatest fighters tend to be forgotten. Regarding discussions of the greatest southpaws or Mexican pugilists to ever compete, featherweight great Vicente Saldivar is, in this writer’s opinion, not given the credence he truly deserves. Although Saldivar’s inherent aggression was fueled into a passion for boxing at a young age, his first round loss in the 1960s Olympics brought a halt to his streak. Over a decade later, however, and the Mexican had smashed his ticket into the historical legends of the 126-weight-class lexicon with a scorched earth fury that saw even the most veteran and determined of fighters wilt.

It’s here that I have to offer a disclaimer: Out of all the boxers I have covered so far, Saldivar is genuinely difficult to define stylistically. Not only was he dynamic, but he had an uncanny ability to build, could operate on a slow pace, build into a nigh-unstoppable terminator - and was as battle tested as any top fighter could be.

In simpler terms: Saldivar would do the bare minimum and then he would land the most accurate nine-punch combination you could find out of nowhere.

This article will, therefore, attempt to address three questions:

1) What is Saldivar’s process for winning fights?

2) How is Saldivar able to accomplish the above sequences?

3) What fighter archetype can we classify Saldivar as?

Ultimately, working upon any analysis of Saldivar’s game begins at how he starts any bout. He will work on the outside or neutral changes, applying a feeler jab.

I have already talked about the versatility of a jab at length before, though it bears repeating here: The jab is the building block for a boxer because it can operate as any sort of tool. And Saldivar’s entire game would not be possible without it.

In this compilation, the lead hand can be seen doing a bit of everything: It starts an exchange or combination, it can counter, it can close the door, it establishes a threat, and so on. Saldivar will use it in tandem with half-steps and subtle positional tactics (i.e. see how he baits outside or inside foot position in some of these clips?) to create a new angle, but being able to jab at nearly at all times is a massive priority for him. His jab is what establishes his ring generalship.

Perhaps the most pertinent function of the jab here is how Saldivar uses it as a feeler. Feeler jabs are, in a word, throwaway jabs meant to test the distance or mess with rhythm. They will help the boxer take a quick read of the spacing between them and their opponent, though it can also act as a feint to draw responses out. A feeler jab’s potency, ergo, relies upon how much it can create reads and threats respectively. This punch is thrown frequently in the early phases of the match for Saldivar to establish basic control while paying attention to the tendencies of the man across from him. It’s equally important to note that Saldivar never abandons this tactic either. It is his most accessible, consistent tendency.

While he throws around his jab, Saldivar pairs his actions with his own brand of feinting.

Suffice it to say, this is the most difficult part of Saldivar’s game to dissect. What he is doing on the feet appears to be superficial waiting and the bare minimum (though I will note he is fond changing directions to make bigger, taller fighters follow). That would actually be correct - though with a twist.

In short, Saldivar’s entire game is predicated upon his ability to break rhythm, both his and his opponents’, in order to craft longer or favorable exchanges.

Again, I have written about rhythm before, but I’ll restate:

“To control rhythm is essential to controlling a fight. [The] fighter wants to [establish] their [own] sense of rhythm while trivializing [their] opponent’s. [To manipulate rhythm efficiently] involves having versatile mixups or approaches. [Once] rhythm is [established, greater offensive] capabilities [can] emerge exponentially.”

Let’s explain how Saldivar uses rhythm. The above clips demonstrate that Saldivar does not intentionally give a whole lot of ‘input’ for his opponent outside of the jab - again, said jab arguably is working more for his distance measurements than it is making his man reconsider. The implication is that Saldivar is wanting to counter. Obviously, there’s a question of “Is the bare minimum enough? At some point the other fighter is going to see he’s not offering many threats and attack first, right?”

This is a fair question to ask. If you are working on the outside with minimalist action, it stands to reason to think that you’re being reactive; your actions as a fighter are being dictated by what the other fighter does and how you respond to it. Most counterpunchers will apply rapid feinting or work with their combinations and footwork proactively in order to create moments where they can fight reactively. Yet, here is Saldivar, whose work at distance is ostensibly nominal and seems to be all about being reactive without much proactivity. At some point, the other boxer will notice and start to work more, especially when they notice that Saldivar doesn’t seem to respond to feints that often either.

I want to backtrack a slight bit as there are some things we haven’t pointed out.

If there’s two words I can point to with Saldivar, it’s subtle and deceptive. For one thing, look at Saldivar’s feet and upper-body. It isn’t easily discernible, but he is feinting level changes and changing directions constantly - and is always using half-steps. What’s happening is simple: Saldivar is giving the perception that he is just waiting, though, in reality, he is always on the hair trigger and operating to make his opponent think - or better yet, overthink.

In other words, one of two things (or both at some situations) is bound to happen here:

1) The opponent may not notice the feints and might underestimate Saldivar’s potency as a counterpuncher or think he’s more susceptible than he appears.

2) The opponent spots one isolatory feint continuously - maybe more than that - and starts to reconsider their options. They may ask if there is far more to Saldivar than meets the eye (Hint: They’re very, very right.)

That is to say, Saldivar is always watching and reacting, but he doesn’t seem to be overreacting; it is unclear to his opponent or even the viewer if he’s looking to initiate or react. The answer is actually a bit of both. How Saldivar establishes rhythm is that he creates subtle movements with even less responses to make his intentions unclear. He is observing his fellow pugilist with a surgeon’s eye, identifying the intricacies of their style all while not giving away the slightest amount of hesitation. In that regard, it is a subtle amount of pressure. The real reason Saldivar’s jab is so effective is because of the expectations.

I forgot to mention one extremely important detail, however: All of the above facets are present mostly in the first few rounds of the fight. Saldivar’s rhythm-breaking game has an entirely different gear that I have yet to cover. You see, Saldivar’s true goal is to gradually overwhelm his adversary. Like many greats, he is one of the quintessential long-game fighters.

To break rhythm means that the fighter takes the expectations of their opponent and completely subverts them by doing something else. Vicente Saldivar embodies this idea in spades. Saldivar will start as slow and minimalist as possible, but he is always making reads through the littlest of actions*. And then, Saldivar will blitz in and unleash his patented combination work

Let’s visit an earlier collection of clips. Watch the jab and feints and then how he breaks rhythm and just goes off. It’s all done and built upon responses and expectations - and the consequences are always harshly delivered.

*To be perfectly frank, I have no explanation for how Saldivar is so accurate or can read his opponents as well as he can. I’m not even sure anyone can. All I do know is that his understanding of rhythm stands among the best I’ve seen just by virtue of being able to consistently do this.

Once the exchanges start occurring, Saldivar’s threats increase exponentially because he can and will attempt and commit to an exchange at any time. How the pocket exchanges do occur though, occurs through feints and throwaways.

As stated, the bread-and-butter feints of Saldivar are his feeler jab and his subtle level changes. Again, the jab is being used here to measure distance and to determine responses. I’ll extrapolate further: Determining opponent responses also means you identify and make them have a reaction. I shouldn’t have to point out Saldivar is not a one-speed, same-timing sort of boxer and can manipulate how much he actually puts into his strikes or feints to break rhythm - and that this feature of his game extenuates itself the more a fight goes on. Saldivar’s jab won’t just act as a feeler then, it also acts a “feeder” to the opponent. At some point, Saldivar’s jab is seen as a liability and an easy opportunity. That is precisely when the trap is sprung: when the opponent throws, Saldivar’s counters are immediate and merciless.

Worth noting is how Saldivar’s high guard is uniquely compressed to his chest. He isn’t exactly a large featherweight, so keeping his forearms so uniform is an interesting choice. My theory is to draw the opponent in and try to break his shell.

Say the opponent becomes more passive and works on the outside though? Saldivar won’t be afraid to touch his way in or continue to draw responses out. Essentially, he makes his intention to step inside clear and that he will find a route to be there consistently. For the other fighter, this makes Saldivar a terror to go against because he will ruthlessly exploit any opportunity to pour the volume on or to make those exchanges where he can hit them even longer.

And once he starts to work in combination? Saldivar becomes a nigh-undeniable storm that devalues any illegitimacy of his prowess.

Again, I cannot fully specify what allows Saldivar to land so much with so much accuracy beyond effective reads and rhythm manipulation. Though I did notice certain tricks that reinforce the above tactics and open the opponent up.

Offensively-speaking, the footage shows that Saldivar’s shot selection also has an incredibly similar telegraph for his hooks and jabs off of one another. In tandem with feints and rhythm manipulation and Saldivar will be closing the door and counterjabbing his man all day long.

Moreover, Saldivar’s level changes were certainly not there for the sake of exhibition. The impression they left was only enhanced by Saldivar’s horrific body punching attack.

In particular, Saldivar’s body work is done in flurries or in counters, even on the frontfoot. The sheer number alone means the attritional damage is going to be debilitating, though actual commitment to the body makes the other opponent hesitate to engage. Primarily, his choice of body punches also deserve mention, as they are mostly shovel uppercuts. Saldivar has a fairly compact build for a featherweight, ergo, he will have to step in no matter what. Therefore, when he does step in, he ensures each shot is going to be worth it. Compact, smaller fighters like Saldivar can leverage said shots because their lower center of gravity allows them to have a more stable base and, subsequently, more efficient weight transfer. That is to say, Saldivar may not be a massive puncher by trade, but his dimensions will allow him to keep the opponent nervous and, arguably, could be attributive to his otherworldly accuracy and volume.

And like the most effective body punchers, Saldivar will alternate between the body and head with tremendous regularity to ensure he has just enough space to keep attacking. That or he can hurt his opponent out of nowhere by taking a slight redirective angle. Pay attention to how he baits an attack or uses a level change and then has his posture hunched just enough to guard or cover up from any return fire.

Saldivar’s inside game isn’t as nuanced or complicated as a Ruben Olivares, though he will apply subtle tactics to maintain control there.

Just as he keeps his opponent moving on the outside, Saldivar will intentionally position his shoulder and forearms to turn his opponent or to create separations and continue attacking from a different angle by pivoting out. If he can’t, Saldivar is content to smother with the clinch. In this author’s opinion, Saldivar did have the luxury of never truly fighting an infighter better than him, though I’ve no doubt that his abilities against tested competition are indicative that he would give those fighters immense trouble. If anything else, this article ought to suggest that he is an incredibly unique, dynamic threat.

What is different about Saldivar than any other boxer I’ve covered is that he will treat any punch as a throwaway if it misses.

The Mexican is a variant on the opportunist sort of fighter. An opportunist fighter will discover an opening and ruthlessly exploit it until they win. Saldivar’s opportunism builds upon that principle by being willing to counter anything and everything even if it means it misses. If he does, it isn’t a big deal - he backed them up. If the opposing fighter throws back, that’s fine, more chances to punch them.

There’s even more: Saldivar will also intentionally target the other man’s torso, gloves, or arms at random just to keep them guessing where he will hit next whilst opening up another target and force them to cover desperately.

In summary, Saldivar crafts endless collisions and offense regardless of what his opponent does. To beat him, you will have to deny him entries, compete in phases and exchanges, and be able to maintain the pace - and fight with rhythm too.

Otherwise, one of the most terrifying featherweights to ever step into the ring will drag his opponent into the most extensive beating of their careers. 

‘Sugar’ Ramos, a physical monster so potent he left most bruised and battered, found himself figured out and finished in the eleventh to the crowning of a new champion. A rival of ‘Sugar’s’, Floyd Robertson, who previously had brought Ramos to the brink in a fifteen-round war, was decimated in two.

Mitsunari Seki, a fellow southpaw and perennially underachieving contender, gave Saldivar a run for his money in an all-time classic, though the effort had its costs and any respect the Mexican may have had was nonexistent in the rematch- where Seki was mercilessly stopped.

Howard Winstone was an excellent technician and strategist from Great Britain, tailoring his game to engage at pace and deny Saldivar’s terms consistently. Each time, his early efforts were eventually outdone and outwitted and he was decisively beaten by the time Saldivar’s hand was raised.

Despite being well-deserving of his nickname, The Golden Lefty, and for being as battle-tested a boxing champion could have been, though Saldivar was certainly without flaws.

Before winning the belt from ‘Sugar’ Ramos, Saldivar edged future lightweight champion and great Ismael Laguna in one of the finest two-way technical bouts on footage. The Panamanian would have many more answers than many of Saldivar’s foes, though never could take control the way the dynamic Mexican could.

Even past his best, Saldivar’s return from an early retirement saw him beat crafty, accomplished pugilists in Jose Legra and Johnny Famechon.

The biggest weakness is inherently the most expected: Because Saldivar is willing to engage so much, he is liable to be hit on entry and often. This is exactly why he was to control rhythm to make exchanges occur on his terms. Ergo, it should come as zero surprise that Saldivar’s worst moments are when his opponent can set up for a devastating shot when he repositions (esp. on his dips) or play with rhythm themselves.

Ismael Laguna’s successes against the Mexican number quite a few (namely being able to fight Saldivar in several of his strongest phases), though his biggest is a recognition and control of range. Saldivar is used to the fencing battle with lead hands and will always have to blitz in. He can be dangerous on the counter; however, Laguna establishes that his hair-trigger for punishing expectations can be used against him. Laguna applies his own feints and looks to blitz in behind rights to catch Saldivar (without inside/outside foot advantages) and then close the door on exchanges with his longer left hook. If he has to engage more, then he pairs the right straight and left hook together to begin and end exchanges on his terms. That said, this requires careful mitigation of Saldivar’s entries and constant energy expenditure to pull off.

Howard Winstone didn’t have the power or speed to back Saldivar off; therefore, his efforts required him to fight with consistency and discipline. Effectively, Winstone noted how Saldivar was only as dangerous as he could be if he had control of rhythm and entries. His efforts, consequently, were dictated to shutting down Saldivar’s ringcraft. For one thing, Saldivar benefited from being the more proactive fighter and forcing reactions. Winstone chose not to let himself react and instead be the proactive feinter. When it came to making exchanges, Winstone chose to punctuate to the body and step out; he would begin and end every engagement behind a consistent, savvy jab.

Mitsunari Seki was the most prominent southpaw in Saldivar’s storied reign. Immediately, a closed stance matchup changes the dynamic. For one thing, the fight can favor Saldivar because more exchanges can open, but the fact that rear punches can land in closer, quicker proximity and that his lead hand can’t close the door immediately puts both men on an even playing field. Seki quickly exposes this dynamic by drawing Saldivar towards his power hand (versus lead hand in an open-stance matchup) to score a knockdown. Saldivar’s level changes and dips also get viciously punished here as the lack of a lead-hand fencing battle means he has to close more dangerous space - a notion that Seki takes advantage of by drawing him into uppercuts repeatedly.

Ultimately, it is a testament to Saldivar’s own championship  mettle and sheer arsenal of options that he could still overcome opponents who tested him at and after the peak of his powers. Trying to describe Saldivar’s adjustments to specific problems is an exercise in repetition - that is, how Saldivar dealt with his weaknesses was to try something different and build from there. It sincerely is that simple: Saldivar was as definitive a trial-and-error, tactile learner in the ring as you could find.

Against an imposingly physical ‘Sugar’ Ramos, the unyielding discipline of Howard Winstone, or the grit and tricks of Mitsunori Seki, Saldivar was forced into more uncomfortable backfoot fighting. His solutions involved doubling down on his jab and directionalities on the outside to create those favorable angles and entries. If he found himself outexchanged, he altered his selection and timing anew. And if his mortal chin still was tagged, he made ends meet with an immortal will to win each and every time. 

I struggle to define what sort of archetype ‘The Golden Lefty’ truly fits under when all’s said and done. Tenets of a pressure fighter are all there though his ringcraft derives itself differently; he has the versatility to compete on the outside and inside without committing to either phase; like the boxer-puncher, he is at his strongest in pocket exchanges; and, like a swarmer, he overwhelms. He isn’t quite any of these, but he isn’t not any of them either. What is clear is that his game incorporates a bit of each built to fulfill his specific attributes and strengths - and that, again, all of these demand control of rhythm. At some point, I had to raise my hands and admit that he’s an exception to many rules that I do know. His in-cage work and generalship is indicative of mastery just by success alone.

I shouldn’t have to say why this is as impressive as it is enigmatic.

What does need to be said is: Vicente Saldivar is one of the most formidable pugilists I’ve ever witnessed. Even with the research and writing that I’ve put in, I don’t quite understand him well enough to be confident in all of my reads here. I will say, though, despite thinking that some monsters below the 130-pound-limit should beat him, Saldivar’s ability to defy so many conventions gives me the slightest pause.

All said and done, he’s a grandstanding mark in boxing history and has an argument for being the greatest boxer Mexico has ever produced. I think his talent speaks for itself.