U.S. Olympic Committee visit Eugene for Track Town 2012 planning

U.S. Olympic Committee visit Eugene for Track Town 2012 planning

Eugene (KMTR) - Members of the U.S. Olympic Committee and U.S.A. Track & Field are visiting Eugene this week for preparation meetings; there's a lot to do before 1,000 hopeful athletes arrive in Lane County. University of Oregon's Track & Field Director Vin Lananna, and Chester Wheeler from the U.S.O.C. exposed a few details about what fans can expect this summer. They're rolling out a London theme, pub included. A lot of the new features will be geared toward young people, in hopes of attract them to the sport, and ongoing the Track Town legacy. One of the new items is a cell phone app, where fans can track the results of events live as they unfold on the track.

Speaking to the community impact, the U.S.O.C. already has 11,000 hotel room nights booked for the trials. Organizers wait for about 20,000 fans inside Hayward Field each day, and the free festival outside the track will likely be back this year, attract thousands more.

The countdown is at 156 days to “Track Town 2012.” Stay tuned over the next couple months for more surprises to be exposed about what's new inside and outside Hayward Field this summer.

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Salido, Lopez place for featherweight title rematch in March

Salido, Lopez place for featherweight title rematch in March

Orlando Salido surprised the boxing world when he stopped up Juan Manuel Lopez in the eighth round last April, handing the increasing Puerto Rican star his first loss and taking "Juanma's" WBO featherweight belt.

Lopez (31-1, 28 KOs) will try to win back that belt when he take on Salido (37-11-2, 25 KOs) in a highly predictable 12-round featherweight title rematch on March 10 (Showtime, 10 p.m. ET) in Roberto Clemente Coliseum in San Juan, P.R.

The rematch was officially announced during a press meeting in San Juan on Tuesday. Salido, from Mexico, has fight twice since his upset win, winning both by strike over Asian journeymen Kenichi Yamaguchi and Weng Haya.

Lopez, 28, scored a second-round TKO beside overmatched American Mike Oliver last October in Bayamon, P.R. in his only fight since the loss.

"I am very happy to have the chance to fight in the Roberto Clemente Coliseum where my idol Tito Trinidad had so many fights and this is a vision come true for me," Lopez said Tuesday.

"I want to thank Salido for approaching back to Puerto Rico and giving me this opportunity. I knew Salido was a hard fighter and he came ready and beat me and I accessible no excuses."

Salido, 31, says he expect a different fight in some ways this time around. "I know he will be better than last time," Salido said. "But I don't see him varying much. He might try in the start to fight in a different style but he will come back to his strengths. He is going to feel that he is the better and stronger man, and that he is not."

Salido says he wants to confirm that his win last April was no fluke.

"I came back to fight in Puerto Rico because he gave the chance to me to fight for a world championship here and I have never had any difficulty winning in an opponent home base," he said.

Fighting on the under card is undefeated No. 1 featherweight competitor Mikey Garcia (27-0, 23 KOs), in a 10-round featherweight bout next to an opponent to be named.

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