Sorry, what do people see in Juanma? Lopes better duck Gamboa like he did Caballero.

We'll see how "ready" Top Rank feels Gamboa genuinely is for top tier competition. Based on what you and alot of other people are saying we should see gamboa in against a very serious test in his next fight. Even though we won't.

 

He's a very solid fighter but I don't think he can get much better than he allready is, so yeah I agree. Gamboa on the other hand has alot of room for improvementand he is allready pretty damn good.

 

The first sentence says it all. Lopez doesn't look spectacular against a world champion featherweight in his first fight at featherweight. An established southpaw featherweight champion at that. Stops him when he's never been stopped and had only one loss. Meanwhile, Gamboa looks like tiny Roy Jones Junior against a guy with double digit losses on his record and we're supposed to glean from this that Lopez was always over-hyped garbage and Gamboa is the real deal. Lopez has already proven he's the real deal and done more as a pro than Gamboa. Gamboa is fun to watch, who has he beaten as a professional? I think the kid is special, but if you just go by what they looked like in their last fights, you're losing an awful lot of context.

 

His power is really the only thing he has going for him IMO, and even that has been shown to be overrated. His punching technique is sound, but he's slow of hand, foot, has poor defensive reflexes and is uncomfortable in the face of pressure. When backed up and/or swarmed on he's not a noteworthy counter-puncher at all, even though he's been painted as one for some reason. When unable to dictate the pace his limitations are exposed, and would be especially in a fight with Gamboa.

As I said, Gamboa has his own flaws, but they're outweighed by his awesome offensive firepower and physical tools, IMO. At least against a fighter like Lopez whom he matches up so well with.

 

Another lighter fighter to move up. I want Gamboa in with a credible guy at his weight not someone from a lower class.