~ The Yuriorkis Gamboa Bandwagon ~

GAMBOA-CABALLERO ON JUNE 12???

Panamanian reports state there are negotiations taking place for a Yuriorkis Gamboa vs. The Ring P4P#8 fighter of the world, Celestino Caballero for a June fight. Remember that Caballero has been chasing JuanMa Lopez over a year, but there never was any chance of Bob Arum risking his growing cash cow vs. a legit threat.

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Of course that doesn't mean Gamboa wouldn't take on Celestino, and if the fight gets made and Yuri can get past the huge, 5' 11" fighter who holds very impressive victories over Ponce De Leon, Sithchatchawal and Molitor in a unification, it'd be very very impressive. Obviously Gamboa has a fight scheduled for March in Germany, so my guess would be no announcement before that one takes place.

But Gamboa taking on a P4P-er (even if a debated one) in his 18th fight would be awesome. Let's hope it get's made!

 

Gamboa returning to Germany for ARENA-show with new TV partner SAT.1

On March 27th Ahmet Öner’s ARENA Sports-Promotion will team up with major TV station SAT.1 for the first time for a big show in Hamburg (Germany) featuring the heavyweight rematch between German prospect Steffen Kretschmann and Russian veteran Denis Bakhtov and the return of featherweight phenomenon Yuriorkis Gamboa to Hamburg where his pro career started in April 2007.

“This will be our biggest show in Germany so far”, states Öner. “With SAT.1 we have finally found a major TV partner who helps us to bring great fights to a big audience.. Of course, a German TV station wants to present German fighters. That is why we have decided to feature the heavyweight clash between Steffen Kretschmann and Denis Bakhtov as one of two main events.”

In June 2009 Bakhtov had stopped then unbeaten Kretschmann with a lucky punch in round one. Now the German heavyweight hope is seeking for revenge. SAT.1 will not only broadcast the fight live but also cover Kretschmann’s preparation for the “biggest fight of his lifetime” in four episodes of a documentary starting at March 2nd.

“This is a big chance for us to present Steffen to the German public”, adds Öner. “We are very happy that SAT.1 will accompany the whole event the way they are planning to do it. This shows us how serious they take their return to the boxing ring.”

Ten years ago SAT.1 has covered some world championships featuring “Tiger” Dariusz Michalczewski and the early fights of Wladimir Klitschko. Now they will return not only with Kretschmann but also with one of the fastest rising stars in the business today. WBA featherweight champion Yuriorkis Gamboa will co-headline the show on March 27th defending his title in Germany for the first time.

“This will be our special highlight for our new TV partner”, explains ARENA-CEO Öner. “Of course, it is not easy to bring a superstar like Gamboa to Germany but he is my fighter so I am very proud to bring him back to where his pro-career started three years ago.”

On April 27th 2007 Gamboa won his pro-debut in Hamburg against Alexan Manvelyan after defecting from Cuba with fellow team-mates Odlanier Solis and Yan Barthelemy. Three years later he is not only world champion but held to be one of the hottest fighters in the world who has been featured on HBO and defended his championship at world famous Madison Square Garden two times.

“When Gamboa will be back in Hamburg it will feel like a circle is complete”, says Öner. “I know that he has lots of friends here and is happy to return to Germany. But this will be an exception. Gamboa’s main market is in the USA now. He will be in Germany for this one fight only and then continue his great career in the big venues in the States. Maybe we bring him to Middle and South America and Asia as well. He is on his best way to become an international megastar so we will probably present him wherever people want to see him fight.”

Besides Kretschmann and Gamboa Öner will also present last year’s world title contenders Juan Carlos Gomez and Mahir Oral on the undercard as well as former German amateur standout Robert Woge who will give his pro-debut at light heavyweight.

 

Gamboa could face unbeaten Jonathan Barros in Germany!

Reports say Argentinean Jonathan Victor Barros (28-0, 16KOs) could be Gamboa's opponent for his Germany return fight on March 27. Personally I have no idea who Barros is, quicky running through his record and I see no notable victories. Hard to say his quality though, Argentinean boxing is pretty isolated and sometimes you run into a lot tougher fighter than expected (Maidana, Victor Ramirez). Either way, it's not a tune-up so let's just hope this one gets made, and Caballero in June after that!

 

It's official: Gamboa faces Jonathan Barros on March 27!

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Watching this short video in a local title fight it looks like the Argentinean has some good reflexes, movement and accuracy, he twice timed his opponent impressievely to get the KO. Not bad at all! With the online footage being so limited, Gamboa should start cautious unless he wants to get tagged by unexpected counters, and put rounds in the bag rather than trying to put Barros himself. If he fights a smart fight with controlled aggression, there should be no problems. But Barros is definitely NOT a "crude guy with a decent chin who is a wild puncher" as Top Rank's Carl Moretti described. Quite the opposite.

 

Gamboa vs. Barros Saturday night!