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Omaha, Nebraska returns to the world title spotlight after four decades as favorite son Terrance Crawford put his WBO lightweight title at risk against Cuban legend Yuriorkis Gamboa this evening at CenturyLink Center.
For Crawford, 23-0 (16), this is the first time in his career that he’s fighting in front of his hometown while Gamboa, 23-0 (16), will be making just his fourth appearance over the last three years.
After six years of mostly obscure matriculation, Crawford finally stepped into the limelight this past March, unseating WBO champ Ricky Burns in impressive fashion in front of a hostile Scottish audience.
For his efforts, the 26 year old is rewarded with a first defense against one of the best pound for pound fighters in the world, former Olympic Gold Medallist and WBA/IBF featherweight champ Gamboa.
A veteran of five world title bouts and three Interim world title contests, 32 year old Gamboa has much more experienced at top level, something that could pair with the pressure of fighting at home for the first time to make for a difficult night for Crawford.
But it will likely be the powerful combination of Gamboa’s remarkable hand speed and lightning reflexes that gives Crawford the biggest headaches.
The champion has excellent skills but is rather mechanical and upright in comparison to the much shorter Gamboa, who fights with a fluidity that has proven very difficult for opponents to cope with.
Gamboa’s weakness is that he is sometimes so intent on attacking his opponent that he neglects defense and has been dropped numerous times, but has always risen to win the fight.
As a result, it’s a safe bet the taller Crawford will look to maintain distance and time the challenger with a counter on the way in. If he can do this effectively, it could produce the knockdown that Gamboa doesn’t get up from but this approach could also lead to Crawford getting out-worked.
If Gamboa fights at a more measured pace without losing defensive focus, as he did last June against Darleys Perez to won the Interim WBA lightweight crown, he should prove very difficult to hit while outboxing Crawford.
But if Crawford can take advantage of Gamboa’s ring rust and hit the target early, the Cuban could lose confidence and revert to his trademark whirlwind style, leaving himself open for big counters.
Crawford is a very good fighter but Gamboa is at a special level and that difference in class should be on display tonight in Omaha as “El Ciclon de Guantanamo” captures the WBO belt.
