By Francisco Salazar

Finally.

The day many fight fans could not wait for is finally here.

Boxing purists are salivating over the 12 round junior lightweight showdown between Vasily Lomachenko and Guillermo Rigondeaux, which will take place inside The Theatre at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

ESPN will televise the fight (9 p.m. ET/ 6 p.m. PT).

Then, there is that fight where those who are fans of brawling and toe-to-toe action cannot wait for Orlando Salido and Miguel Roman to square off for 10 rounds.

Looks like boxing fans who had to endure the horrors and nightmare of 2016 are reaping the rewards of stellar fight cards. Dec. 9 is the holiday gift that boxing fans are going to thoroughly enjoy.

Salido and Roman is a fight fan's dream. More so, Salido-Roman, along with the two other televised fight, could be special.

Salido and Roman will square off in a 10 round bout at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. HBO will televise the three-bout card.

There is one fighter who is relishing more than most fighters would and that is Orlando

Like tens of thousands before him in Mexico, Orlando Salido picked up a pair of gloves and decided to give the sport of boxing a try.

Instead of throwing hands in a street for free, why not get paid to fight in a ring?

Salido was not just any fighter thought. He made his pro debut at the age of 15. Not to be outdone, Roman made his debut at the age of 17.

Salido (44-13-4, 31 knockouts), who is originally from Ciudad Obregon, Sonora, Mexico and now resides in the Phoenix area, would get stopped by Ivan Cazarez. Salido would face Cazarez less than nine months later. Salido would lose, this time by decision.

The 37-year-old Salido would go 8-6-1 in his first 15 bouts, hardly indicating a career that would win him world title belts in two different weight classes. Instead, Salido's career was marked with getting by.

"I was young and I didn't take my career seriously early on," Salido told Boxingscene.com Wednesday night over the phone. "My career was not about fighting for titles early on. In a way, I'm surprised at where my career ended up because of how it began."

Salido is past his prime and may not have many fights left in his career. That does not mean he does not come in excellent shape.

"I've always made it a point to be the best I can be when it comes to preparation, especially at this stage in my career," said Salido, who is managed by Sean Gibbons.

Fight fans have come to expect a lot in an Orlando Salido fight. Many times Salido has been given up, but seems to find a way to revive his career, over and over.

It was evident when he was dominated by Yuriorkis Gamboa in September of 2010, but would come back to defeat Juan Manuel Lopez to win a world title belt seven months later. 

Salido would lose a one-sided technical decision to Mikey Garcia only to win a world title belt over Orlando Cruz, defeat Vasyl Lomachenko in a close fight, and score a thrilling knockout victory over Terdsak Jandaeng.

Could Salido lose to Roman tonight? Possibly, but Salido seems to get a thrill out of giving boxing fans their money's worth with each outing. Maybe that is why many rally around the fighter known as 'Siri.'

"I'm very appreciative and I thank God for all that I've accomplished. I'm grateful for the support fans have showed me over the years."

"Many boxing fans are expecting a thrilling fight between me and Roman. Miguel is a strong fighter. The Lomachenko-Rigondeaux fight may be too technical, but I'm going to do my best to give people an action fight."

"That's what I'm aiming to do."

Francisco A. Salazar has written for Boxingscene.com since September of 2012 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (Calif.) Star newspaper, RingTV.com, and FightNights.com. He can be reached by email at santio89@yahoo.com or on Twitter at FSalazarBoxing