Was it Gamboa that was impressive or Mtagwa made for him?
Was it Gamboa that was impressive or Mtagwa made for him?
Last edited by gest12645; 01-24-2010 at 03:29 AM.
Both but honestly, looking at Mtagwa I see a guy made for Lopez too and he had to go through hell. Watching that fight about ten seconds in I couldn't believe I'd picked Gamboa by UD, he was just too big, too strong, too fast, too good, too much of everything.
I've said this before, I think the harping on Gamboa's faults got a little out of control there for a while cause its easy to forget how effing devastating this guy is, how athletically he's just on a different level from almost everybody. And its not like he isn't skilled either. I thought that was a devastating and in a way methodical performance from Gamboa, I know methodical sounds odd for a two round job but he didn't go out winging, he set everything up off of Mtagwa's aggression and just destroyed him one punch at a time.
Another thing that's odd to say about a second round KO, or a guy who got KO'd in the second round, is Mtagwa still showed a good chin to me, part of that is influenced by the fact that he's shown a great chin before but he was just getting blasted, just nasty shots.
Last edited by OumaFan; 01-24-2010 at 05:25 AM.
"You knocked him down...now how bout you try knockin me down ?"
I got so much heat for giving Gamboa and Rigondeaux so much credit, but its coming into fruition now.
I honestly think Gamboa is developing into one of the best fighters on the planet. I think we will always have to worry about him getting hit cleanly when he starts to open up, but he is begining to do it in smarter situations.
His counter punching last night was far more impressive than it has ever been, and he has always been an amazing counter puncher. It was always nice to see him wait for an opening to arise instead of forcing an opening. I think he will knockout a lot more guys like that. Most of his deadly one punch ko's have come (obviously) when the guy hasn't seen the punch coming.
Im a massive fan of Gamboa, love his style, and think he could be awesome. But we gotta remember that it was Mtagwa in there who in all seriuosness had a career night against Lopez last time out but in reality has never been that good. He got shut out by Billy Dib for christ sake. He is no bigger scalp than a lot of Gamboas other wins.
I have a lot of respect for Mtagwa he may not be that skilled, but he makes up for it with heart. He is responsible for the question marks over JML now and his fight against Tomas Villa was nothing short of amazing, that being said Dib (one of my least favorite fighters out there) is miles ahead of him on talent, and Gamboa is a phenom. So he is great gatekeeper, journeyman test for anyone and Gamboa passed with flying colors. I really doubt we get to see JML/Gamboa this year, I think Gamboa will make JML look like an amateur. JML will not risk his Dodge sponsorship against Gamboa.
For every story told that divides us, I believe there are a thousand untold that unite us.
Dont get me wrong im a fan of Mtagwa too. I hae massive respect for those African guys that dont have great skill but turn up to fight in great condition everytime. The Ndous Bikas, and Tackies of the world. I'd actually rather wait for a Lopez v Gamboa fight when they are both more established. I'd kinda like to see these guys in with some veterans now who wont go away easy, and will really test them. Pity JMM cant fight at 126-130 anymore.
For every story told that divides us, I believe there are a thousand untold that unite us.
I think Gamboa is just on a different level than Lopez entirely, and will fare better against any common opponent they may have, regardless of any stlystic differences.. As Oumafan said, Mtagwa really should have been made to order for Lopez as well, and in fact most people with anywhere near world class ability.
Agree with most of the posters here on Gamboa. I've been watching him since the beginning and the question I had about him being able to mature and fight a measured fight and not expose himself to dangerous counters as much, have mostly been answered. Against Mtagwa, did wing for a few seconds, but it was already after he had his minimized the risks. The only question I have is whether he can effectively change /stick to a gameplan mid fight. His skills have always been able to bail him out up till now.
Not for nothing, as much as I don't want to jump the gun comparing Gamboa/JML (I haven't really been impressed with Jaunma).... was I the only one who thought, Gamboa could have walked right back out and taken out Levueno in 3 rounds also?
They want your @$$ beat because upsets make news. News brings about excitement, excitement brings about ratings. The objective is to bring you up to the tower and tear your @$$ down. And if you don't believe that, you're crazy.
Roy Jones, Jr. "What I've Learned," Esquire 2003
I think Gamboa is a very special talent, but the Mtagwa fight didn't prove anything to me. Mtagwa should never be fighting above Super-Bantamweight, you could even make an argument for him going down to Bantamweight. He's a tough fighter, but Gamboa had a massive size advantage, I mean logically he should be catching hell for dragging a guy up who weighed in at basically the lower weight limit. That's my feeling anyway. Gamboa beats Lopez up though, I've thought that since the fight was first mentioned. I think he could take most of the 126 & 130lbers around.
Both. Mtagwa did everything to make Gamboa look pretty. All Mtagwa's punches came in slow-mo, allowing beautiful counterpunches. Once Gamboa realized how slow that jab was, particularly on the way back, he just cranked him over and over with the right. Mtagwa could have had a chin made out of Titanium and it would have cracked.
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