Yuriorkis Gamboa... Who should he fight before challenging for a title???

Someone like Freddie Norwood in the winter
Someone like Oscar Larios in the spring
Someone like Jorge Solis in early summer in a title eliminator
ANY champion in the Fall, Luevano would be the easiest, John would be the hardest, Linares would be the best matchup between two very skilled young talents
Unification at the end of the year

Maybe a few tune-ups in between to get more pro fights in the bag. More experience and better defence needed, with his talent, it can be done in a few months.

And that's not a hard task for Gamboa as he is THAT good. And his management looking like a good one to make that happen. I think his next fight will be on Showtime and the german Premiere is behind Ahmet Oner too as well as some German/Turkish sponsors.


And after he finished in FW
Gamboa vs. THE BEST SFWs in 2009 for P4P status!

 

I think the two previous posts are pretty good and I agree with those opinions.

What I wanted to add is that a few hours back a (re)watched gamboa's fight against Adailton De Jesus -in which many claim he got knocked down because he was sloppy- and I rewatched that so-called knockdown frame by frame and he wasn't kncked down at all; He missed over the top with a left hook, walked into/onto De Jesus and got slightly off balance (maybe 30%) and De Jesus refused to move which gave Gamboa no space to stand.


NB.: And even if he was knocked down what's the problem.

 

Yeah, it wasn't a real knockdown, and Gamboa's got a pretty good chin anyway so no need to worry...

...what we all have to worry about is the opponents' last minute pullout. FU F. Norwood!

 

I think Gamboa needs to more fight against the likes of Solis or Honorio this spring, then the best choice would be to go against Valero for WBA title. I think he would beat Valero badly.

The only thing he has to be aware of is to defend himself a bit more serious, because this way of boxing is suicide against the power of Valero. But I would pick Gamboa to destroy Valero within 7-8 rounds. He beats the IBF champ Fana, I see him winning agains Guerrero, Luevano and Linares as well.

I think at this stage the most difficult opponents would be Guzman and Chris John. Both experienced, very skilled. Do not forget John is the only one who could beat Marquez undoubtedly.

WBA gives Gamboa the highest position, I would propose him to face and beat Valero, one or two defences and he can go against the biggest names in 2009. It would be wonderful to see Gamboa against Pacquiao early 2009.

 

Through 8 fights, Gamboa's resume looks great. 2 more fights before a title shot might be jumping the gun a bit, but he can get there soon. There are a few things his resume is missing:

1) A banger. De Jesus had a great knockout ratio, but mostly against cabdrivers. I want to see a limited banger with a chin against Gamboa, to see how he handles getting hurt. There aren't many bangers at featherweight, but Jason Litzau (WBA #11) might fit the bill. As a bonus, we'd probably get to see Litzau do the chicken dance again.

2) A quality southpaw. Jose Rojas would be a quality vet to go up against who's on the backside of his career. As a bonus, he's ranked #3 by the WBA.

3) Rounds. He needs to go someone for a full 12, someone who hasn't been KOed easily in the past. De Jesus had a decent chin and he still managed to TKO him, but I want to see him go against someone with a great jaw. Fernando Saucedo, who's only been KDed twice and went 10 with Popo Freitas might be a good choice here.

My next 3 ideal fights would be:

Fernando Saucedo (televised on Telemundo)
Jason Litzau (televised on BAD)
Jose Rojas (title eliminator)

 

Jason Litzau will be KTFO that bad vs. Guerrero that it would be bad for Gamboa to wait on him...give him the other 2 guys, then either Luevano or Valero...

 

Jorge Linares would take him to school.

 

You are getting a lil bit over your head, aren't you?

No one will school Gamboa, not even Guzman (who is one of his biggest threats now and in the future..)

 

larrios presents a good risk-reward ratio so i pick him.

 

Larios just suffered a brain bleed against Linares. Have some compassion bro. He needs to stop fighting immediately.

 

that dude won't stop fighting. i met him in the wbc convention and he was thinking of fighting in the philippines becasue the people were so good to him. there were two filipino fighters slugging it out on the ring and the crowd was chanting larrios' name. he's too proud a warrior to quit after being beaten by linares

 

Jason Litzau after he gets KO'd by Guerrero. In the meantime, Norwood and other top 20 contenders will do just fine. He should get a title shot by the end of the year or early 2009.