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Gamboa's Performance Invites Comparison To Lopez
By Frank Lotierzo
One of the biggest questions HBO Boxing After Dark's viewers wanted answered Saturday night was how WBA featherweight champion Yuriorkis Gamboa 17-0 (15) would do against the tough Tanzanian Rogers Mtagwa 26-14-2 (18). In his last MSG outing two months ago, Mtagwa, brought in as an easy opponent for WBO super bantamweight champ Juan Manuel Lopez, wound up pushing the budding superstar to the limit, nearly knocking him out late in the fight. The quick turnaround against Gamboa was promoter Bob Arum's thanks to Mtagwa for a job well done. Since the point of highlighting Gamboa and Lopez on Saturday's doubleheader was to build up a showdown between the two, Mtagwa's performances against each might be seen as a comparative barometer.
As it turned out, there was no comparison in how Rogers Mtagwa fared against the two opponents: Yuriorkis Gamboa was simply too fast, too strong, too big, and too good for him. The fight lasted two rounds and Mtagwa wasn't in it for one second of them. But it might be wise not to read too much into the difference in how he did against both guys: As Gamboa , and later in the night Lopez himself, were quick to point out, styles make fights. Fighter A blowing out a fighter, who Fighter B struggles with, doesn't guarantee that Fighter A beats Fighter B. In this case, Gamboa is a mercurial fighter, often responding instinctively to opportunities, whereas Lopez is a methodical pressure fighter, more given to systematically breaking down his opponent. It's not unreasonable to surmise that Lopez's fights might run a little longer than Gamboa's. And it's important to take into account that Lopez didn't have any size advantage over Mtagwa when they fought; he may even have felt the pinch of making 122. Against Gamboa, coming in barely over the super bantamweight limit, Mtagwa looked vastly outsized.
The Gamboa-Mtagwa fight turned out to be the star-making vehicle for the champion that Mtagwa's previous fight was supposed to be for Lopez.
Mtagwa jumped in with a good right. Both flurried and are a little wild with jabs. Gamboa scored with a good jab, then followed it with a great right to the head. Gamboa got in a quick one-two. He repeated it, and hurt Mtagwa. Gamboa's hand speed was making this look easy. He was able to land consistently, using the ring well. Mtagwa was unsuccessfully trying to jab with the champion. With about thirty seconds left in the round, Gamboa dropped Mtagwa with a sharp left hook to the top of the head, securing a 10-8 round.
Mtagwa came out aggressively in the second, but the champ is ready for him, landing a left-right combination. He hurt Mtagwa with a hard hook--just too fast a fighter. He was also patient, using distance to get leverage on his punches. He scored with a hard combination. A moment later he repeated the same thing, but harder. Mtagwa was hurt. Another hard right put him in real trouble. Sensing the end was near, Gamboa scored with a blindingly fast five punch combination, dropping Mtagwa at the two minute mark. After the count, the champion was all over the challenger, catching him with a barrage of hard shots. Gamboa floored Mtagwa again with a clubbing right, and referee Steve Smoger immediately and correctly stopped the fight without issuing a count. The round had gone 2:35. The fight was a total mismatch.
After the fight, Gamboa told HBO's Max Kellerman, “I gave it everything. I wanted the fight to go four rounds to show people what I had. I've been trying to work on my deficiencies and improve.”
It looks like Gamboa has, in fact, been working very hard. Saturday's win could hardly have been more impressive. Lopez later did his part to make the proposed unification fight a much anticipated matchup. In his own way, he was just as impressive in breaking down and stopping WBO featherweight champion Steven Luevano in seven rounds as Gamboa had been getting Mtagwa out of there in two. A Yuriorkis Gamboa-Juan Manuel Lopez match shapes up to be a really intriguing pick-em contest.
Frank Lotierzo can be contacted at GlovedFist@Gmail.com
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SALT lover :
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A lot of people are talkin' about styles, Gamboa's speed, JuanMa's power, if it was 126lbs, if it was 122lbs and everythin'. However, there was somethin' VERY important that Gamboa said after the fight with the Tanzanian dude that people is forgettin', and that clearly pinpoints Lopez's mistake when he faced Mtagwa: when Max Kellerman asked him how he felt about his performance, Gamboa said he was dissatisfied, cuz he wanted to fight couple more rounds. He wanted Mtagwa on his feet a couple more rounds, so he could fight more, and have much more exposure, and thus the KO came. That's what happens when you focus on winnin', rather than take out your opponent. You look more impressive, and the fight ends in a much more impressive, and emphatic fashion, which means the majority of the times in much less time. That's exactly what happened to Juan Manuel Lopez (28-0) the first (And perhaps only time) he faced Mtagwa, he tried to KO the Tanzanian fighter, and got hit with plenty of unneccessary punches. Same thing happened with Gerry Penalosa, JuanMa receive a lot of unneccessary shots to the head, cuz he was tryin' knock him out, instead of just winnin, the difference was that Mtagwa happens to have more power, and moe aggresive, and he was able to stop a fighter that was just there tryin' to survive. Yuriorkis Gamboa (17-0), on the other hand, simply focused of winnin' the fight, and scorin' good shots, and looked much more impressive than he originally wanted. That's a main difference between the two, and the main problem with JuanMa. Just cuz you got KO power, doesn't mean you have to KO everybody that comes across with you in the ring. Some people here say he can't box. One thing is that he can't box, and another thing is that he fell in love with his power, and doesn't wanna be unfaithful to this love everytime he fights. He looked sloppy against Lontchi, he received many unneccessary shots against Penalosa, he overcame his life's biggest shock with Mtagwa, and last Saturday he looked almost mechanic against Luevano, all for the reason of wantin' to KO the opponent rather than to win. However, when he faces the likes of Gamboa, Rafael Marquez, Israel Vazquez, Chris John, and/or Celestino Caballero, you can rest assured that he's not gonna focus on knockin' them out, and instead win the fights in which he will look incredible.
Monday Jan 25, 2010 08:57:52 AM
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SALT lover :
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Another thing that I wanna point out to TSS personnel, to keep an eye to this Division, the Featherweight (126lbs). The Division's hot right now. The Division has the likes of: JuanMa Lopez, Yuriorkis Gamboa, Israel Vazquez, Rafael Marquez, Chris John, Elio Rojas, and Celestino Caballero. With the likes of these, we're gonna have a treat, but that's if the fights get made, and already we're being DUPED into a fourth fight between Vazquez and R. Marquez. Those two are exploitin' each other instead of tastin' new meat. But anyways, the Featherweight Division is lookin' super hot right now! Peace!
Monday Jan 25, 2010 08:58:35 AM
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DEEPWATER:
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At the Garden. Duddy fought a bum.a complete-bum.Mr Duddy please don't ever take the mike after knocking out a bum without landing any punches.Arum Can sell out the theater at the Garden with Duddy fighting cab -drivers but please don't think that you are world-class Mr Duddy.rainone looked good.Wolak didn't. TITO TRINIDAD IN THE HOUSE!!! I had my pic taken with him on the way in and everyone loves Tito.standing ovation on the way in the lobby.The man is a gentleman and my favorite modern day boxer. The two main events were explosive and were good showcase fights.
Monday Jan 25, 2010 09:04:45 AM
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Anony @ Salt Lover:
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I KIND OF AGREE WITH YOU BUT,,, take into consideration that Juanma has been fighting MUCH BETTER competition than Gamboa. Gamboa's last three fights has been against guys called Whyber Garcia 22-6-0 / Jose Rojas 25-6-1 / Walter Estrada 35-8-0. While Juanma already fought guys like Daniel Ponce de Leon 34-1-0 / Gerry Penalosa 54-6-2 (very seasoned veteran) / Olivier Lontchi 18-0-2. This is not saying Gamboa is not great but he does have a chin problem (I don't remember the fight he wobbled badly) and Juanma is more experienced to fighters that hit hard and box better. Mtagwa's fight should not be considered a big upset cause Mtagwa doesn't have much knocking power, he just caught Juanma starved at a lesser weight. 126 is the right weight for them to clash and I believe Juanma can knockout Gamboa. NOW... I hope Juanma don't wait too long, Yuriorkis is truly improving in every fight and could become more dangerous if he gets untouchable. Juanma should take this fight sooner than later and start fast imposing punching respect early in order to win.
Monday Jan 25, 2010 09:32:45 AM
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SALT lover@Anony:
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Yeah, I hear you. No doubt if JuanMa touches that chin, Gamboa's goin' to wake up horizontally in the floor. But he just have to focus on winnin' the fight, and forget about the KO. If it comes, great; if it doesn't, OK then. And yeah, I agree that 126lbs comes great to him at this point of his age and physique.
Monday Jan 25, 2010 09:54:40 AM
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swift:
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I'm still trying to figure out why people feel that Gamboa has a weak chin? He has been down, but never seriously hurt from what i have seen and i have been following him for awhile. Gamboa doesn't have the pro experience, but his amatuer experience is second to none, remember this kid was put in with tough opponents in his10-11th fight! I also feel that Gamboa's power is way more explosive that Juanma, but time will tell. The longer they wait, the better Gamboa's chances get, because he is improving every second he steps in the ring...
Monday Jan 25, 2010 10:18:56 AM
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cantbelievewhatiread:
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I simply cannot believe the way people talk about these two. There's simply no way Lopez can match Gamboa, and the truth is there for everyone to see, except no one wants to see it because Lopez is puertorrican and therefore has a much bigger following and famous countrymen pulling for him, which made him a main event when Gamboa is the one who should have been whopping Luevano for the title. The obvious difference in quality between these two is simply abysmal. Sure, Gamboa is been wild at times, but that's only because he wanted so badly to make a lasting impression and he knew that with his exceptional speed and power he could get away with it. Lopez is a decent fighter and now a run of the mill champion, but he will be more than outclassed if he is ever unlucky enough to face Gamboa. That's just there for anyone to see. That we're mentioning them in the same sentence is a testament to the way things work in boxing: Gamboa is the next Pacman, and since he doesn't have the ethnic support of his opponents he will have to be patient and blow away at least ten more guys to get to the biggest stage than he would have to had he been Mexican or boricua.
Monday Jan 25, 2010 01:10:48 PM
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The Saint:
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@Swift: Regarding Gamboa's chin, I've only seen a couple of his fights from YouTube, and one ESPN fight last year in which he got hurt by what appeared to be an elbow to the chin. I didn't exactly analyze the guy but for whatever reason I've always gotten the impression that he has a weak chin. He reminds me a lot of Tito Trinidad who I think had the same reputation, although Hopkins was the only fighter to ever stop him. Tito's been down many times, and Gamboa's off to a quick start in terms of the frequency of getting knocked down. Then again, I don't know how many times he's actually been down, maybe it's only once or twice. Still, I can't shake off the feeling that Gamboa's chin is going to betray him at some point. It's ust one of those things.
Monday Jan 25, 2010 05:46:19 PM
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Frank Z@ Salt:
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Don't forget about Guillermo Rigondeaux, i see him moving up to 126 very soon.
Monday Jan 25, 2010 06:48:09 PM
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swift:
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@The Saint - He's been down about 4 times, most of his knockdowns are from balance and over confidence. I remember him exchanging with fighters and I always wondered why he would get in those kinds of exchanges with his gifts. He reminds me of a young aaron pryor as far as getting knockdown and getting up, but your right Tito got knockdown quite a bet in the early going of his career and so did Delahoya. I just see a big change in his demeaner, he just looks a lot more calmer in the early rounds. I might be wrong, but he looks like one of those special fighters, and I'm not saying that because i am Cuban... lol
Monday Jan 25, 2010 09:05:58 PM
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El Cubano:
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Gamboa speed is something to behold. I would even dare to say that he is faster than Paquiao or Mayweather. And, swift...I'm not just saying that because I'm Cuban... :-)
Tuesday Jan 26, 2010 12:45:55 AM
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AFN:
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Spot on analysis Salty and anony, and Radam in a more poetic take on the other article. Juanma often looks as though he is trying just a little too hard, aware of the fact he is clearly a potentially upcoming star in the spotlight. He needs to relaxa little, and just let his talent take over. Great things will lie ahead if he does that. Gamboa is very much like a raw Manny, he'll need to tighten up a lot as his level of competition rises cos he don't possess Manny's steel though. Gamboa has the tools otherwise to go a long way. When the two meet I expect (and hope) to see Juanma rising to the top and likely see Gamboa going back to the drawing board. Of course I am biased cos I get sick of listening to Cuban athletes whining about how hard they had it under Castro. HBO don't help constantly towing the Miami line. Suckers. Viva la revolucion. EL TOONOY
Tuesday Jan 26, 2010 01:13:07 PM
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swift:
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@ El Cubano - That's good to know! Hey, we have some other guys to keep and eye on too. Lara & Rigondeaux, both I think will be champions as well. I agree with you and another guy about Gamboa. It's funny listening to all of the Juanma fans talk now! Before saturday, Juanma and his fans were saying let's see how Gamboa does against Mtagwa, but after he destroys him, they say he was shopworn.... I'm kind of pissed listening to Bob Arum trying to push this fight back, he's going to screw around and blow it. I know one thing, from what i saw from Juanma, they will avoid Cabellaro at all costs. I guarantee Gamboa will be fighting Cabellaro!
Tuesday Jan 26, 2010 06:32:47 PM
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MisterLee:
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Juanma is overrated, he don't fight on his backfoot, he don't jab, he doesn't know anything other than punching until his opponent is down. He rather slug with a slugger than box him, and that's dangerous when he doesn't adjust. Also, who has he beaten? He's another Valero... knockout artist.. waiting to be exposed. He was very sloppy in parts of the Lontchi and Luevano fight, and the Mtagwa fight proves he'll get hurt by anyone with an actual punch. How can pple say juan ma is the most "technical" boxer when Nonito Donaire is 10X better than him. When donaire fills out, he'll beat every guy from 122-135 or 140. Also, Juan ma vs. the The Ghost Guerrero would be interesting. In other news, khan vs. maidana anyone? It seems khan went from the slow track of warren to Golden Boy "The fast track and burn your fighters" Productions. Just ask Ortiz, Urbano Antillion, Angulo, Juan Diaz, and other "great" next-big-thing "Mexican legends". I'm a fan of angulo, but golden toy really don't look after their fighter's greatest interest, De La Hoya: great fighter, lousy two faced promoter. Recognize it fair and clear, any promoter who actually BACKS UP Mayweather's actions is a dishonest, backstabbing, hungry whorebag with a side of deception. Yep! Pc out! Tss rules!
Tuesday Jan 26, 2010 11:08:29 PM
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NEWV:
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GAMBOA next PACMAN ??? if he carries his speed when he moves up in weight i will agree....but lets see that CHIN 1st!but yeah i go for GAMBOA against juama...
Wednesday Jan 27, 2010 03:11:51 AM
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Anony @ AFN:
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HEY ANDY!!! Nice hearing from you dude!!!! I kind of agree with Mr. Lee... Juanma needs more technique to fully dominate and he should not count only on his punching power, he needs to box more, get hit less and use his power to make the opponent retreat; not looking for a knockout. Luevano did hit him a lot in this fight and it wasn't necessarily. One point in favor is he didn't go wild like in Mtagwa's fight... so he showed maturity and control in that part. What he needs might be a better trainer or adviser to work on his defense and then he will be definitely the dominating force. Much better than Gamboa. SPEEDBAG - Juanma style is perfect for israel Vazquez and Marquez... I would love to watch them throwing bombs all night long but at the end I'm pretty sure Juanma has more pop in his punches than them.
Wednesday Jan 27, 2010 09:27:22 AM
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MisterLee @ Anony:
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It's easy to look good agst a guy who didn't put pressure on him, and didn't havepunching power to even keep himhonest. Juanma has a great chin, so he wasn't bothered by the punches of luevano, what he didn't count on was mtagwa, who was able to take his best punches, and who was able to expose that when juanma is hurt, he doesn't know how to box and move (he would throw knockout combinations, then move to the OPPOSITE side of the ring to buy time, not jab and repeat until he got exhausted, and keep doing the same thing) If not gamboa, someone's set to exposejuanma. Imean, who did he beat? He's all hype, a smaller but great penalosa, two feather fists in lontchi andluevano, and getting arse beat by mtagwa (did we see his boxing skillslike he promised? NOPE!) So yeah, he's not the next big hope. Juanma gallops to his opponents like a horse, and throws hooksand uppercuts, has his chin tucked real well, but still gets hit every so often, and opens up every time he's hurt. He gonna get exposed within 2 years. I mean between the ropes exposed, no other way. Holler!
Wednesday Jan 27, 2010 10:25:53 AM
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Anony:
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STILL.. he has face better competition than Gamboa and if he improves, I don't see anybody he can't beat. Guys like Gamboa will retreat when they feel the power. It happened to Luevano, from the third round he noticed Juanma was very dangerous so he tried his best boxing skills instead of going punch by punch with him. He really lasted longer because he is a great technician, truly beautiful boxing but Juanma imposed himself and will impose at this level. And again, the brawler type of boxers like Israel Vazquez and Rafael Marquez won't stand if they decide to fight the way they like... throwing bombs.
Wednesday Jan 27, 2010 10:49:09 AM
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The Saint:
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@Misterlee: I wouldn't necessarily say that Juanma is overrated unless some are saying that he's the #1 p4p fighter. Granted, I haven't followed his career. The first time I ever saw him fight was against Daniel Ponce De Leon, and I got the impression that Juanma was a well-schooled, technically sound boxer-puncher. I saw his fight against Penalosa and was impressed with Juanma's infighting skills, although Penalosa hit him with some pretty good shots, but even though Penalosa was too small, he's among the better technical fighters today. I think that Mtagwa was a wake up call for Juanma and more than anything, Juanma's confidence was shaken. His aura of invincibility was taken from him. Juanma is far from being a Valero, who reminds me of a young George Foreman with his full on frontal assault and heavy hands that could hurt opponents with glancing blows. Juanma is much more rechnical, maybe not a jabber who likes to circle, but he's not a wild swinger, either. Regarding Nonito Donaire, he's not filling out anymore and you can tell by his body type that he has no business fighting above 126. Smaller fighters who consider moving up in weight should at least have had significant physical advantages over his opponents in the lower weightclass. Donaire isn't that fighter. Plus, his style isn't suited for fighting bigger guys than he is. And about DLH, yes he's a sleazebag. The guy has no integrity. I believe that he weighed in over 147 against Pacquiao and knew this before he stepped on the scales, which is why he had the scales calibrated to make him a few pounds lighter than he really was that night, hence Pacquiao weighing in at 142, to Roach's surprise. DLH will be remembered for losing every single one of his marquee fights, except for Vargas, if you can really count that. Vargas was as damaged goods as they come, but whatever, I'd give him that.
Wednesday Jan 27, 2010 12:34:04 PM
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El Cubano @ swift:
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I agree. Juanma wants nothing to do with Celestino. He presents a very tall order for anyone (literally and figuratively). I can understand Arum wanting this fight to marinate for a while. I think I read an article where he compared it to the first Leonard-Hearns fight where Emanuel Steward wanted to make the fight in 1979. Arum contends that if the fight had happened then, it wouldn't have been as meaningful. I would ted to agree but I just hope that neither one gets bumped off before it happens.
As for Lara and Rigondeaux, both exhibit a certain calmness and deliberate approach that you would normally see in seasoned pros. Of course, they had all those amateur fights so they do have alot of experience but it is still not the pro game. i think Lara can go farther because he is a southpaw and shows good power. It does help that Freddy Roach is working with Rigondeaux.
Wednesday Jan 27, 2010 12:55:36 PM
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Is It Only Money That Matters?
"Who refuses to take a drug test worth $40 million?" For the American psyche, money is everything. It transcends what is right or what is wrong. For a certain amount of money, I'll do anything. Manny is Filipino, and he cannot fathom that kind of thinking. Is that what capitalism should be? I can't understand why $40 million should dictate your personality. Simply put, Pacquiao has his own dignity and refuses to be manipulated into taking $40M and giving his (butt) to anyone who wants it." ---TSS reader "Tony" informs readers of a possible cultural difference which causes certain peoples to interpret Pacquiao's refusal to cater to Mayweather's testing demands (photo by Chris Cozzone)
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