by James Slater – Though the fight was given no notable publicity (not any that I read anyway, I didn’t even know the fight was on), last night in his native Argentina, former world welterweight champion Carlos Baldomir returned to action , having his first fight since last December. Now aged 38, the fighter known as “Tata” stopped little-known Colombian Jairo Jesus Siris in the 4th-round.
Scoring what was his first win in over two years, the man who holds wins over Zab Judah, Joshua Clottey and the late Arturo Gatti weighed-in a quarter of a pound under the middleweight limit.. Now 45-12-6(14), the former champion may well move on to another big fight or two before he’s through. Still reliably-chinned and full of heart, Baldomir has had his name previously mentioned as a possible comeback opponent for the soon-to-return Antonio Margarito. Is this the reason Baldomir got himself a tune-up bout last night?
It’s likely Baldomir can still make 154-pounds, and as much as many fans want nothing further to do with the man who has been dubbed “Margacheato,” a fight between the Mexican hard man and the equally tough (maybe even tougher) Argentine would attract a lot of attention. It will be interesting to see if this mooted fight does indeed go ahead (for what it’s worth, I think it will, what with Margarito’s suspension being over in January).
If the Margarito fight doesn’t get made, though, Baldomir has surely come back so as to fight somebody of note. Still ambitious, the 38-year-old who has only been stopped one time (by Paulo Sanchez way back in 1994) remains a well known name and he usually provides good action fights. And with today’s light-middleweight division pretty much wide open, who knows; maybe there could be another crack at a major 154-pound title out there for Baldomir somewhere.
Or maybe the teak-tough warrior from Carlos Monzon country will choose to campaign as a middleweight from here on in. One thing looks certain going by last night’s weight; Baldomir’s welterweight days have gone for good.
And while last night’s TKO victory over 40-year-old Siris was nothing special, it was an okay win for the former champion. Siris, 19-14-1(18) going in, is not exactly a patsy, and there was a time when he was something of a prospect – even managing to get a win over future IBF super-middleweight champion Alejandro Berrio (KO5 back in 1998). Also during his very up-and-down career, Siris has been in with names like Rafael Pineda and Alfonso Mosquera. The win over Berrio remains the only notable victory on the Colombian’s record, however.
Coming back against an active puncher (18 of Siris’ 19 wins coming by stoppage) and taking him out quickly, old warhorse Baldomir showed he just might have a bit of fight left in him even today.