Assuming Chris John doesnt happen(Chris wants to fight in Indonesia and aint gonna happen)and Arum is reluctant to make the Lopez fight...then,what's next? throwing a few names: Mike Diaz,Ponce de leon,Litzau,Concepcion,R.Marquez,Caballero,Barros,... who?...moving to 130?
Chris John for the World Featherweight Championship should come next, if not him, maybe Caballero, Litzau or someone with a big punch. Hopefully not Rafa Marquez who should retire.
No point moving to 130 because there are no big fights there. Even if Burns and Fana fight to create a Ring Champion, that fight wouldn't interest anyone but the hardcore fans. Rafa will probably re-match JuanMa, so I can't see that happening. I wouldn't mind seeing him fight Hasegawa, a terrific fighter who, I think, picked up an alphabet title in his Featherweight debut. A Ponce de Leon fight would be fun for as long as it lasts (my guess - not very). If he beat Caballero, he could use it to hype up the JuanMa fight a little more, "I beat the guy you were scared of" or something. The best-case scenario at the moment would be for John to come back to the US. Isn't the reward of getting what would be a huge victory worth the risk of defeat? I actually just wrote an article at UndisputedFightMag about the recent mixed fortunes of the Cuban fighters, if anyone wants to give it a read.
Why do you say this? Is he having trouble making 126? Problem with Gamboa is he's already giving up huge reach advantages to a lot of opponents even in his current division. If he goes up to 130, I can only see it being moreso of an issue.
The fight with Chris John isn't happening.. I say wait until after the Lopez/Salido fight and try to start negotiations then.. If not, I say either a fight with Litzau or Caballero would suffice.. I believe the Lopez/Gamboa fight will happen either late this year or early next year..
Hasegawa will be good, but Gamboa shoudnt go abroad to fight if he wants to increase his exposure in US to sell fights... i dont know if the japa will come here to fight.I've heard good things about him.
I agree with this. Also, am I just hyped from his performance over the weekend, or am I crazy for thinking, Gamboa will pretty much blow John out of the water as well?
More than likely, I think Hasegawa would be asking Gamboa to come to Japan if they were to fight.. Garcia would be a good opponent as well..