To me, he is a KO about to happen... He needs some defensive tips in order to become a more complete fighter. if not, he will get KO soon.
Only fighters who can get away with boxing with their hands down are special breeds like a prime Roy Jones and Sweet Pea, and Gamboa is clearly nowhere near on their level.. He gets alot fo credit for showing flash and power against weak competition but alot of fanboys can't see the fact that he's very poor fundamentally.. He moves straight back with his hands on the side with his chin up in the air and he's lucky that he hasn't faced an elite fighter with power and counter punching ability. He's not good enough to be ignoring the basic fundamentals of boxing and he's going to get exposed very soon.
Again as I said some 10000x before, people will continue to call Gamboa a KO in waiting despite the fact that it probably won't happen for another 5-10 years.
Gamboa needa keep steppin up his competition..he don't wanna fight a good fighter in his 1st title fight...He should fight 3 more times against some good boxers and than see what goes from there and take a title shot if he can get it!
He's much, much closer in talent level (not proven ability, just raw talent) than most of the jokers you see running around trying to imitate the styles of RJJ and Pea. That said, I agree that Yuri will be beaten. My guess is either by Linares at 130 or when JuanMa moves up from 122.
I don't see anybody boxing right now who screams unbeatable and that includes Gamboa. He can be beaten but I don't see Linares doing it (probably because I don't see that fight taking place any time soon). JuanMa vs Yuri would be a lot of fun. I'd favor JuanMa but I've heard some compelling arguments from others about Gamboa's chances.
I agree that Lopez would beat Gamboa, but they'll probably never face each other. Lopez's people haven't exactly been seeking out tough fights, and Gamboa probably won't be able to make weight at 126 anymore in a year or two because of his age. I've gone over it a thousand times before. Gamboa doesn't have a glass jaw. If you can't watch him fight and see that the reason he gets knocked down is because of his foot placement, then you aren't as good at analysing boxing as you think you are. It's pretty clear as day though. Every time he gets knocked down, he's way out of position because of his lunging style, and his legs get twisted up. He has yet to get hurt, despite one of the knockdowns coming from an elbow. Eventually it will probably bite him in the ass because he won't be able to get back up fast enough if he actually does get hurt, but there's nothing to shatter.
So finally, Gamboa is fighting for his first world title, even if it is the interim version of WBA FW title, which is in the hands of World Featherweight Champion Chris John, who's fighting Rocky Juarez in a rematch in the Summer (Ortiz-TBA undercard). These interim titles are pointless belts and John is not even out with an injury, but we have to deal with it: Gamboa goes for the interim version first. Good news is, if he'll win on Friday, on Showtime, and pushes for the 'full' version, he'll have to fight the division NO1, borderline P4P-er Indonesian counter-puncher. The opponent on Friday, Venezuelan Jose Rojas is not very well known, but has already challenged for a world title 4 times (0-3-1 in his tries), and already 38 years old. But he holds a knockout win, in fact the only knockout ever produced over The Ring top9 P4P-er Celestino Caballeo (KO3), so he's absolutely no pushover. Of his 6 losses, Rojas was only stopped once, and outside of FW. At 126, he only has one loss, a decision to World Champ Chris John. So the countdown begins for Gamboa's first world title... 4 days!
The Lopez hype..... I love the kid but he needs to fight someone with a Glass Jaw, rather than a Dry Sandcastle