Gamboa, Rios To Clash For Lightweight Crown In Sin City

Late last week it was announced that undefeated former Featherweight World Champion and Cuban amateur star Yuriorkis Gamboa will be facing off against undefeated former WBA Lightweight Champion Brandon Rios at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas on the 14th April, in what is widely regarded as one of the most eagerly anticipated match-ups that has been made so far in the new boxing year.

In taking this fight, Gamboa has to jump up two weight divisions from Featherweight to Lightweight to fight the undefeated Rios, who is widely regarded as one of the most exciting fighters in the fight game since knocking out Miguel Acosta to win the WBA Lightweight title a year ago.

The WBA “regular” title at 9 stone 9lbs [135 pounds] was declared vacant after Rios failed to make the weight by half a pound in his last contest against Manchester’s former British and European Lightweight Champion John Murray at Madison Square Garden in New York, in which Rios stopped Murray in 11 rounds.

Gamboa, who is a former Olympic gold medallist at the 2004 Athens Olympics has chosen to fight the big hitting Rios through frustration at not being able to land an exciting match up against the Puerto Rican two weight World Champion Juan Manuel Lopez at Featherweight, which was derailed after Lopez was stopped in eight rounds by Orland Salido.

So, Gamboa has chosen to take on Rios, who has had problems in making the Lightweight limit in the past and the Cuban believes he has the speed and power to give the brawling Rios considerable problems.

Although Gamboa has fought in the lower weight divisions in comparison to Rios, he has fought the superior opposition in his 21 fight professional career holding wins against big hitting Mexican Daniel Ponce De Leon, two time Featherweight champion Orlando Salido and the Argentine Jonathan Victor Barrios, while Rios only holds wins against Murray, Acosta and Urbano Antillon in terms of world level competition.

Also, Rios has fought his entire career between 9stone 4lbs [130 pounds] and 9 stone 13lbs [139 pounds], so is more natural at the weight in comparison to Gamboa, which leads to questions over whether or not the extra 9lbs will effect Gamboa’s stamina and speed along questions about whether or not Gamboa will gain extra power as well.

Rios will also have a three inch height and reach advantage over Gamboa and the proven KO power at this weight, but the American does not possess the footwork and hand speed of Gamboa, who has the more questionable chin as he has been dropped four times in his career while Rios has only been dropped once down at 9stone 7lbs [133 pounds].

It has all the necessary ingredients for a potential fight of the year candidate with two big hitting exciting punchers who have been dropped to the canvas in their careers and a clash of styles of boxer puncher in Gamboa and big hitting brawler in Rios that will generate plenty of fireworks in Sin City come fight night.