Guys I got banned last week so I could only stalk the forums from the outside and I yearned to join in on the Gamboa action that was going on. I wanted to poll everyone and ask given Gamboa's current age would he be able to correct his bad habit of keeping his hands down , or do you think things with him are set in stone ? I need to know I yearn for more Gamboa discussion
Based on having had 400 fights and being 26, I think what you see is what you get with Gamboa. He also seems to have an arrogant nature which doesn't bode well for being taught Maybe the Jimenez knock down will teach him a lesson.
I think he can break the habit. The thing for me is that I believe his reflexes are good enough to get away with keeping his hands low at times, but his problem is that he drops them when he shouldn't (after throwing combos, occasionally after double jabs, etc)
Do you think this is a habit that will gradually go away, or that he can put a stop to by his next fight? Can you think of any other boxers that were in his situation?
I had a poll originally and one of the options was that he could compensate with his talent adn doesnt need fixing. I think this is what you are getting at though right?
I originally suggested a corrective brace that makes him keep his hands up in training that might work
I think it is set in stone, for two reasons 1) It is a major part of his offensive arsenal; he is an offensive fighter. He's not often thinking too much about defence, so he'd be sacrificing a big part of his game by doing so 2) Even if he could change it, I think he would choose not to. He is obviously comfortable and confident enough in his style
I can think of Jones Jr and Hamed doing similar things, the difference is Hamed and Jones Jr were tall/tallish for their weight. With Gamboa already struggling to make 130lbs (this will worsen with age and distance in between fights when he starts moving up the ladder) despite being very short for the weight, I don't think he'll get away with it like the other two could. It's a concerntration thing, he needs to spar a shitload of rounds and have some sort of punishment inflicted everytime those hands come down, in the form of another three minutes of sparring or being forced to do a bunch of pushups. My biggest concern going forward to Gamboa is the one I raised just above, his height for the weight he's at. He's going to struggle when he starts facing taller boxers who are more accurate than the guys he is facing. That's why (believe it or not, despite the chin question) I have Khan beating Gamboa at this point.
Right now im watching the Gamboa-Jiminez fight and one thing I dont get is why the fight went the whole distance the ring side doctor could have put an end to the bout Jiminez face look bad.
Ahhh so you think its a considerable trade-off he is conciously making in regards to his style . Very astuste sir very astute I think you summed it up
I believe so. People implore guys to keep their hands up, like they are doing it for no reason. It has its advantages, it is far more difficult to see a punch coming from that sort of angle if you have explosive speed People forget some of the best of this era regularly keep their hands down, Whether Gamboa has the reflexes to pull it off is the question...
Problem for Gamboa is that again (hate to sound like a broken record), he's going to be a lot shorter than most of the top guys he faces which means keeping his hands down becomes even riskier than usual. Even Mike Tyson kept his hands up, despite his incredible head movement and ability to slip on the way in... and effectively, that's what Gamboa has to become to be successful, a Mini-Tyson because he's probably going to be atleast 2 to 3 inches shorter than any of his opponents this point on.
What about Donald Curry... Guy had 400+ amatuer fights (and won all but a few, if not all but one) and yet I'm sure he corrected a few things along his pro career (at least before his downslide). Amateur and pro is a different ball game. Granted, he (Curry) wasn't 26 when he turned pro, but to say Gamboa will not improve is stupid. A good boxer is improving all the time, even if they're 26, 30. 34 or whatever. Gamboa to me, seems like a good boxer...
5'4 and a half. Made the start of his career at 114 and fought at 125 for most of his career at a time where there wasn't as much knowledge regarding taking the weight off as the 24 hour weigh in rule had only just come into effect. Gamboa started at 130 and looks like he's going to be spending time at 135 in the short term based on accounts of him struggling with weight already.