18.05.08 – by James Slater: The very talented Yuriorkis Gamboa won again last night, capturing his first professional title in the process. But for the second time in his now 10-0(8) career, the 26-year-old was made to pay for holding his hands in a dangerously low position and put down as a result. No, Gamboa was not badly hurt in either knockdown – last night’s coming in the 4th round of his fight with Darling Jiminez, the other coming also in the 4th round in his fight with Adailton De Jesus – but the warning signs are there.
As good as he may be as a fighter, paying attention to the sport’s fundamentals such as defence, is something that simply has to be done. Gamboa is incredibly quick, has great power and physical strength, along with grace, balance and a hugely competitive attitude. If, however, a tighter defence were added to these qualities, the Cuban defector and former Olympic gold medallist would be an even better fighter.
Last night’s fight against the experienced yet ring-rusty Jiminez proved Gamboa is still a work in progress in the pro ranks. And this is not something that should not be expected, with the Cuban having had only ten pro starts, but when we are talking about a fighter who is as hyped and there is as much expected of him as there is in Gamboa’s case, the scrutiny is that much greater. Last night’s fight certainly worried Gamboa’s promoter, Ahmet Oner, at least a little.
“Gamboa is a complete fighter,” Oner said after the ten round UD win over Jiminez. “but tonight I wasn’t happy with his performance. He was a little bit too arrogant and he gave me a hard time. You must not forget that this was only his 10th pro-fight though. He has got to improve his defence but he will definitely be world champion one day.”
While Oner is more than likely correct in his statement about his fighter becoming champ one day, I cannot agree when he says Gamboa is a complete fighter. Deep down, I suspect Oner does not believe it either. “He has to improve his defence,” he says. A ‘complete’ fighter has to work on nothing.
Still, Gamboa will surely learn from each and every fight he has, last night’s in particular, and will not be so reckless and arrogant with regards to how he holds his hands. Seemingly wanting to go right through every single opponent, unconcerned about what punches may be thrown back at him as he advances, Gamboa is definitely an exciting fighter to watch. The warnings are clear, however. Unless Yuriorkis wants to have a relatively short pro career – exciting though it may be – he should learn to pay the other guy some respect and keep his hands in a position other than down at his waist.
Hopefully, the WBC International title at super-featherweight will not be the only title Gamboa captures in the pro ranks.