Terence Crawford vs Yuriokis Gamboa Preview

By Peter Wells:

Terence Crawford (left) & Yuriokis Gamboa (right)

Identical records, but the similarities are halted there between Terence Crawford and Yuriokis Gamboa. Both stand at 23-0(16), but their paths to boxing and world titles have been far from identical.

Yuriokis Gamboa fled Cuba to realise his professional dream in Germany, having set out to Colombia before heading to Germany to apply for a visa to enter the USA. The precious Gold Medal he won at Athens 2004 was sold to support his family, who had to stay in Cuba, prior to him defecting. After an impressive start to his professional career in Europe he headed to Miami, Florida where he gradually rose through the rankings before capturing the WBA Featherweight title from Whyber Garcia (TKO 4).

Gamboa's form has been sporadic, but the exciting Cuban has won every time, quickly becoming a fan favourite due to his offensive brilliance and defensive lapses. Gamboa has not seen action for 12 months, and many have been questioning the Cuban talents' motivation, something that has often lacked with Cuban fighters after switching to the paid ranks.

The quality is there, and he'll need every bit of it against hot prospect Crawford. The Nebraska native has gone about his business at Lightweight the conventional route before dispatching Ricky Burns (W UD 12) to capture the WBO Lightweight title last time out. At 26, Crawford is still on the rise while Gamboa at 32 must take this opportunity to fulfil the potential his amateur pedigree predicted. His moment in the sun should have come 3 years ago when he looked set to face rival Juan Manuel Lopez, but the Puerto Rican was shocked in 8 rounds by Orlando Salido, and the super fight that boxing was craving has never been mentioned again.


Gamboa with Promoter 50 Cent

Crawford, a polished boxer, enjoys fighting at range, mixing it from head to body, lacking the power but speed is something that comes in abundance. His accuracy is something Gamboa has often lacked, but the Cubans power and explosiveness have helped him hugely along the way. The question will be whether Gamboa's power will still be as present at Lightweight, and a hard to hit Crawford will make it harder for the Cuban to experiment.

At 5ft 5in, Gamboa can be an elusive target himself, but he often squares up when in range and his hands down approach could see him as an easy target for Crawford.

Crawford cannot afford to settle into a slow pace as he will be in danger of being outworked. At 5ft 8in Crawford can use his height and reach advantages to frustrate Gamboa - who can be very easily rattled.

The pick is for Crawford to disrupt Gamboa's rhythm enough with a sharp jab followed by a right cross, which should land with enough regularity to rack up the points. Gamboa should be slightly ahead by the halfway stage, his work rate enough to sway the judges, even if the cleaner work is coming from the American. As the fight enters the final stretch Crawford will grow stronger, Gamboa upping his urgency will see him caught on the way in, although he will likely get through with enough hooks and overhand rights to keep the rounds fairly tight.


Crawford celebrates winning his first world title in Scotland

While it will not be a case of home-cooking, Crawford can take a close, maybe split, decision victory in his hometown of Omaha, Nebraska.

Unfortunately the undercard does not live up to the main event on paper, the pick being a match-up of unbeaten Middleweights as Matt Korobov 23-0(14) takes on Jose Uzcategui 22-0(18).

Former Olympian Korobov seems to have been on the prospect ladder for a long time now, meaning the time to step up is soon approaching. Uzcategui's best win came last time out when he stopped former world title challenger David Alonso Lopez (KO 6). Korobov can take a clear victory on the scorecards in this 10 rounder.