The 126-pound bout -- the first time Salud has fought for a title at this heavier weight -- will be held in Albany, N.Y., and shown locally on ESPN at 3:30 p.m. Salud is scheduled to enter the ring at around 4:15 p.m.

"Jesus says he feels strong at this weight," Salud manager Bobby DePhilippis said last night. "When I first fought Jesus, I scheduled a few 126-pound bouts, but in those days, he was better and stronger at 122.

"Kelley is going to have better hand speed than Jesus, but he's been getting busted up lately. His face really swells up. Jesus is definitely stronger. This will be a really tough fight. We took it on only two weeks notice."

The 33-year-old Salud brings a 54-8 record into the hastily scheduled bout. He has 32 knockouts. Kelley, who was the World Boxing Council featherweight champion before a recent loss, is 43-2-1. He has 31 knockouts.

Salud's last major fight was against International Boxing Federation titleholder Vuyani Bungu of South Africa last August. Bungu won a unanimous decision.

The former Nanakuli resident was the World Boxing Association bantamweight champion in 1989. In April of 1990, he had his title stripped for not defending it against Luis Mendoza in his home country of Colombia.

Salud has had several world title fights since then, but has been unsuccessful in all of them.

He lost to Welcome Ncita in Italy for the IBF title in 1992 on a unanimous decision.

Kennedy McKinney also scored a unanimous decision over Salud in an IBF title fight in Nevada in November of 1993.

Antonio Cermeno captured a unanimous decision as well in a WBA title bout in November of 1995.