~ The Yuriorkis Gamboa Bandwagon ~

Okay, Gamboa-Rojas is off again!

According to FN, Gamboa now will face former WBO and IBO SBW world title challenger Al Seeger this Friday on ESPN2. Seeger is a very decent puncher, but smaller and not as good as Rojas, and not ranked (Rojas is #2 at WBA at 130). Of course it's a pretty bad news, but at least Seeger is pretty good for a very late substitute.

They want no part of Gamboa. If PacMan won't fight Valero, hopefully the Venezuelan and a Cuban can fight at the end of the year if Gamboa stays at 130.

 

I guess you're gonna be very disappointed tomorrow morning...




... because Gamboa fights on Friday! :nut

BTW Rojas is a bigger test because he's physically bigger and stronger, better chinned, a southpaw and don't forget that he holds a KO win over world champion Celestino Caballero. He's also #2 at WBA, so his ranking is nice. Of course neither Rojas nor Seeger are world beaters, but pretty decent opponents between two HBO televised shows for a guy with just 10 wins and a sore hand. You can expect an exciting performance and a shorter night than Ponce De Leon's 8 round defense. Nobody is forcing you to jump on the bandwagon...

 

From now on, Gamboa is officially a featherweight! Also his trainer is now Ismael Salas, former trainer of Danny Green (well, I thought Cueallar was the perfect choice. Does anyone know why they switched to Salas?)



Press release:

This content is protected

So far Cuban phenomenon Yuriorkis Gamboa was considered one of the big rising stars of the super featherweight division. The 2004 Olympic gold medallist made big impression at 130 lbs. beating experienced fighters like Adailton De Jesus, Johnny Edwards or - in his most recent fight - Darling Jimenez and capturing the NABF championship as well as the WBC international title. Now "El Ciclon de Guantanamo" decided to go down in weight to campaign at 126 lbs. starting tonight in Primm, Nevada, against former 122 lbs. world title contender Al Seeger.

"I think 126 is the most appropriate and most natural division for Gamboa at the moment", states promoter Ahmet Öner. "With 5'6'' he is rather short; fighting at 126 lbs. will help him be even more efficient and bring out his power and speed even more. If you keep in mind that he used to knock out tough guys at 130 you can imagine how he will clean up the featherweight division."
Gamboa's hunt for his first world title starts tonight when he faces Seeger for the WBA Fedelation championship.

"This is Gamboa's stepping stone to the world championship", adds Öner. "If he can get rid off Seeger he should be ready for the title fight. And if he turns out to dominate the featherweight division - which I think he is definitely capable of - he can always move up in weight to face the top contenders at 130 or 135. Manny Pacquiao started to campaign at 112 and won world titles in five divisions. Why shouldn't Gamboa be able to win belts in different weights?"
Gamboa proved that he has no problem with the lower limit at yesterday's official weigh-in bringing exactly 126.

"I feel great", says 'El Ciclon'. "Bringing 126 didn't cost me any of my power. My trainer Ismael Salas prepared me perfectly for the fight. I don't care that the opponent changed on short notice. I want to become world champion as soon as possible so I will beat whoever comes my way."

The co-main event of the night features light middleweight prospect Richard Gutierrez (24-2, 14 kos) who faces Jerome "Boomer" Ellis (11-8-1, 10 kos) from the Bahamas, fighting out of Florida. ESPN 2 will broadcast the show starting at 6pm PST / 9pm EST.

 

... where are you now?

Wow what a stunning KO! Great performance at 126, he should definitely stay at FW and get back to the ring ASAP!

Here's the gif and the fight on YT:

This content is protected

[YT]mW5R8EvLUko[/YT]

 

Gamboa's new record:​

This content is protected

+

This content is protected

+

This content is protected

= 11​

 

Ismael Salas was in his corner and he's training Yuri now. I don't know what happened to Cuellar, I thought he was a very good choice.


Anyways, here's the post-fight interview:

[yt]KmmXUTkzKqo[/yt]

 

According to ESPN, Gamboa's next fight will be on the October 4 HBO BAD card, most likely vs. Marcos Ramirez (25-0), who was to fight Yuri in May but he pulled out in the last few days.

I think Ramirez is not the best choice... a 30+ former world champion, a crafty veteran or a tough mexican warrior would be better - like Guty Espadas or maybe the young Jorge Solis. One big win is needed for Gamboa and Ramirez is not good enough before a world title fight.

 

Are you ready for a huge but IMO negative news?

According to Gary Shaw on the scene, huge FW talent Yuri Gamboa has just signed with big and controversial promoter Don King. The fight vs. Ramirez is still on for the Gary Shaw HBO BAD card, but DK events are coming up after that.

Gary Shaw, Top Rank, Golden Boy - they are good promoters with good positions in the lighter divisions as well as with Showtime and HBO... why Don King? It makes no sense to me, Arena (Ahmet Öner is behind all deals) made a mistake IMO, with no disrespect to the King. Shaw did a fine job in the US so far and I know Golden Boy was looking for Gamboa as well... why oh why...