Yuriorkis Gamboa: The Juan Manuel Lopez Super Fight Looms
By Delroy Hill
Boxing fans around the world are anticipating a show down between WBA Super World Featherweight and IBF Featherweight Champion Yuriorkis Gamboa, 19-0, 15 KO’s, and WBO Featherweight Champion Juan Manuel Lopez, 29-0, 26 KO’s.
The two fighters will likely meet sometime mid 2011 in a unification bout, so long as they each remain undefeated.
Juanma faces former IBF Bantamweight and WBC Super Bantamweight Champion, Rafael Marquez, 39-5, 35 KO’s, on November 6 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Marquez is a ring legend and true warrior. His counter punching and ring smarts could ruin the super fight if Juanma looks past him. He is by far the biggest test of Lopez’s career and he’s been life and death with lesser opposition.
According to Lopez’s co-promoter, Peter Rivera, if Juanma gets past Marquez, he and Gamboa will return to action in February in a double header in Puerto Rico. The double header would be a final showcase of the two fighters before their showdown, which will probably take place in New York City, around the Puerto Rican Day Parade.
Both fighters are promoted by Top Rank, which could help make the fight easier to make, but Bob Arum is in no rush to put the super fight together and possibly ruin one of his bright stars’ career.
Arum told ESPN’s Dan Rafael “I’ve got two horses and I want them to wipe out everybody in the featherweight division and when they finally meet, people will go crazy.” Arum’s been around the block more than a few times and he knows how to build up the fight and make the most money out of it for himself as well as his fighters.
The match itself should make for an exciting fight for as long as it lasts. Both fighters carry heavy power in both hands, and usually finish an opponent when they have them hurt. To add, both fighters have a leaky defense which has gotten them both into trouble.
The 28 year old Gamboa has been down five times in his career. Three of those knock downs were flash knock downs at the hands of Roger Gonzalez, Adailton De Jesus, and Darling Jimenez. The knockdown he suffered against Marcos Ramirez was clearly caused by an elbow, as the replay reflected.
In his latest bout, a unification bout with Orlando Salido, he again tasted the canvas, but to his credit it was partially due to being off balance.
Juanma was dropped in the first round of his last fight by Bernabe Concepcion and was almost knocked out by Rogers Mtagwa in the 11th and 12th round. Gamboa, 2004 Olympic Gold Medalist, blew Mtagwa out in a second round TKO just three months later.
I doubt that this fight goes the distance.
I can almost guarantee a few knock downs as these true punchers get a crack at each other’s subpar defense. It should be very entertaining as the two trade fast combinations and hard power shots.
Juanma has the better jab of the two, and will be able to keep Gamboa reaching. Lopez also enjoys a slight height advantage and a four inch reach advantage, which will likely cause problems for “El Ciclon de Guantanamo.
Don’t think that I’m completely counting Gamboa out of this fight. He has the speed and enough power to give Juanma major problems. If he catches him with big counters, it could be lights out. But Gamboa has a nasty habit of coming in with his hands down and ending his punches off balance. That’s how Salido caught him. To his credit he came back and dropped Salido in the 12th round and got the win. But Juanma is a little less forgiving. When he gets you hurt, he usually closes pretty well.
Add the fact that Gamboa has changed his fighting style.
He was more disciplined in his impressive stoppage of Mtagwa, and used the same style against Salido. However, against Salido he was more cautious and looked lost at times. He got the win but was very ineffective. He looked very uncomfortable trying to box first, and not attack with reckless abandon. It’s the style that has made him a fan favorite, but also put him in danger. Choosing to box and counter rather than blitz his opponents may protect him in the future and extend his career.
But, using his new style on Juanma doesn’t seem likely to work, as I give Lopez the edge in overall boxing technique. He is also an under rated counter puncher in my opinion.
I just believe that Juanma has too much skill for Gamboa. The best chances for Gamboa are in a fire fight. Even then, Lopez has enough to compete with and hurt him.
Even as a fan of Gamboa, I see him being stopped somewhere between rounds 6 and 10.