By Francisco Salazar

"Orlando Salido is that Honda Accord that has 350,000 miles on it. It may not be fast or have pep, but it still works and does the job."

That was what Zanfer Promotions' liaison and matchmaker Sean Gibbons told me in late June, a few weeks after Salido's 12 round war with Francisco Vargas, the last time 'Siri' has fought.

That is a perfect microcosm of Orlando Salido. He may not be the fastest or most athletic, but he does get the job done. Just when some think Salido is done or has fought his last meaningful fight, he keeps proving people wrong.

Now he is one victory away from lining up one of the more anticipated fights in boxing today.

The junior lightweight contender Salido will face late-sub Aristides Perez in a 10 round lightweight bout at the Palenque del Expo in Salido's hometown of Ciudad Obregon, Sonora, Mexico.

The bout will air on beIN Sports en Espanol (11 p.m. ET/ 8 p.m. PT) in the United States and Azteca TV in Mexico.

Salido and Vargas fought to a 12 round majority decision draw on June 4 at the Stubhub Center in Carson, Calif. After a period of rest, Salido was penciled to return to the ring in November/ December, but a minor back injury during training camp scratched those plans.

Salido was scheduled to fight Amphon Suriyo of Thailand, but Suriyo was denied a visa to enter Mexico, according to Gibbons.

He faces Aristides Perez, who hails from Colombia, in a showcase bout that could lead to a likely showdown against Vasyl Lomachenko sometime in August of September of this year. Chicago and the Los Angeles area are two of the leading candidates to host the fight.

"I'm happy to be get back in the ring as I haven't fought in a while," Salido told BoxingScene.com over the phone on Wednesday evening. "It's going to be a great fight and, to fight in my hometown, I'm going to give everything I have to put on a good show."

While Salido was not fighting, he was reportedly an Uber driver around his adopted hometown of Phoenix, Arizona.

"I wasn't fighting and I had to stay busy," said the 36-year-old Salido. "I wanted to make extra money and I looked at it as an investment."

Salido (43-13-4, with 30 KOs) will likely have less drive to drive people around over the summer. A victory over Perez tonight will likely put Salido in the ring against Lomachenko, something fight fans have clamored for overt the last several months.

Salido defeated Lomachenko by split decision in March of 2014, the only blemish on Lomachenko's record.

Some may favor Lomachenko to win a rematch, but Salido believes he can pull off another victory over the gifted Ukrainian fighter.

"It looks like the fight will happen. I've said all along that if he wanted the fight, I had no problems giving it to him. I have seen he's improved in all facets of the fight game. He boxes better and he sits down well on his punches. He's faced and defeated some difficult opponents. With the right preparation, I know it will be a good fight."

Salido began his pro career at the age of 15. His pro record after 13 fights was 7-5-1, not a record people would believe would one day parlay into Salido becoming a three-time world titleholder.

But he still plugs away, through struggles and triumph.

"The toughest fight I had to get over was the Mikey Garcia fight. I did not perform the way I normally would. My toughest fight was the Vargas fight."

"I feel great thus far as my career goes. People ask when I will walk away, but I take my career fight-by-fight. We will see at the end of the year where my career is and we'll go from there."

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 Knockout Nation. He can be reached by email at santio89@yahoo.com or on Twitter at FSalazarBoxing