Salido debuted as a professional in 1996, at the age of 15. Salido suffered several losses in his early career, sporting an 8-6-1 record after 15 fights. Salido was knocked out 5 times during this period, but he has not been stopped since March 2000. Salido faced former WBO super featherweight world champion Regilio Tuur on 23 November 2001, defeating him via split decision after eight rounds. Nine days later, he faced former WBC featherweight champion Alejandro Martín González but lost a majority decision after ten rounds. Salido then took a fight against IBF #1 featherweight contender Lamont Pearson on a weeks' notice. Salido got a decisive unanimous decision win, which introduced him to the sanctioning bodies' rankings, making him a title contender.