By Jake Donovan

Carlos Cuadras is guaranteeing that the first defense of his 115 lb. belt will end with his arm raised and the belt remaining at home.

The unbeaten 26-year old takes on Jose ‘Sugar’ Salgado this Saturday, defending in his birth town of Guamuchil, Sinaloa, Mexico. The fight will air live on Televisa.

Cuadras (30-0, 24KOs) won the belt in late May, taking a technical decision over visiting titlist Srisaket Sor Rungvisai. The bout was stopped in eight rounds due to a cut over Cuadras’ left eye which came as the result of an earlier headbutt.

Allowing time for the wound to heal, the newly minted titlist began sizing up the competition for his first defense. Salgado (34-2-1, 27KOs) appeared to be the frontrunner given the parameters of the show, and has insisted from the moment his name was first mentioned that he will be heading home as a new champion.

Naturally, such talk didn’t sit well with the reigning champ.

“Not in your dreams, Sugar,” Cuadras insisted when Salgado again vowed to pull off the upset. “I will rise to the occasion and do everything to make sure the belt stays at home, with my people.”

Salgado takes his second stab at an alphabet title. His first try was for a secondary title, coming up just short in a split decision loss to Liborio Solis in Dec. ’11. He is unbeaten in eight fights since then, including an off-the-canvas points win over Oscar Blanquet in June to earn the title fight.

Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of krikya360.com, as well as the Records Keeper for the Transnational Boxing Ratings Board and a member of Boxing Writers Association of America. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox