Salido's first defense after regaining the WBO belt came against Vasyl Lomachenko. Lomachenko was regarded as one of the best amateur boxers in history and was trying to make history by winning a world title in his second fight. Salido came in overweight, thus losing his title before the fight. Nevertheless, Salido won a split decision. Two judges had it for Salido, 116–112 and 115–113, while the third had it for Lomachenko 115–113. ESPN.com had the fight 114–114. Lomachenko, for his part, stated he felt the decision was "fair" and accepted blame for not following through with his corner's game plan, promising to learn from the experience and come back stronger. Many boxing analysts mentioned that the referee allowed Salido to deliver an inordinate number of low blows. Salido was also criticized for failing to make weight and some sources stipulated that he did so intentionally, as well as coming back much heavier than Lomachenko on the fight night.