By James Slater: Well, there was a press conference moments ago in Los Angeles, to further promote the planned April 14th clash between lightweights Brandon Rios and Yuriorkis Gamboa, but, as expected in light of recent developments, Rios was the only fighter present.
Gamboa never attended yesterday’s Miami press conference and he’d said to Ringtv.com that he had no intention of going to the one in L.A. Gamboa, unhappy as he is with his contract with Top Rank and Ahmet Oner, has claimed there never was a contract for the April 14th bout. But today Top Rank’s Todd DuBoef stated unchatergorcally that “we are going forward with this fight on April 14th.”
DuBoef said that ticket demands for the fight went through the roof, surprising him and his staff, and he also said that this (on or off) fight is what boxing needs. In what is perhaps an effort to get Gamboa to commit fully to the fight, the Top Rank exec announced that there will be a bonus of $100,000 for the April 14th winner.
Rios, standing at the podium, said that that money will be his. “Bam Bam” also stated that he is “ready” and that he will be ready to fight and to win on Apr. 14th “with or without him [Gamboa].”
Then, clearly annoyed at Gamboa’s two no-shows, the unbeaten 135-pound star held up a large photo of Gamboa, with the words This Coward Never Wanted To Fight emblazoned on the framed picture.
“Let’s give the fans what they want,” Rios said. “Let’s give the world what they want.”
It’s all up to Gamboa now. Fans are in a lather over this potential classic (one that DuBoef says reminds him of Mayweather-Corrales, Taylor-Chavez and Barrera-Morales One), and no-one wants to see it slip away. It would be some massive letdown if Rios wound up facing a late replacement next month.