Yuriorkis Gamboa, the boxer who won a 2004 Olympic gold medal for Cuba and is now a professional fighting out of Miami, headlined a major card for the first time tonight and put on a good show.Gamboa defeated Darling Jimenez by unanimous decision to run his record to 10-0, and he did so in exciting fashion, displaying sensational hand speed and excellent conditioning.
But he also displayed very little defense, and he almost always kept his hands down near his waist, rather than in position to protect his head. As a result, Jimenez landed a right hand that knocked Gamboa down in the fourth round. And Gamboa didn't display quite as much punching power as expected, so fans who thought Gamboa would score a quick knockout were disappointed. Jimenez showed a lot of heart in making it through 10 rounds without getting knocked down.
Gamboa is a rising star. He said before tonight's fight, "It's an honor to be able to fight on HBO with only nine fights," and assuming there were no injuries tonight, he's expected to fight on ESPN2 in just six weeks. It shouldn't be long before he's on pay-per-view, fighting for a title.
It was a great night of boxing on HBO, with two other young fighters staying undefeated: James Kirkland knocked out Eromosele Albert in the first round, and Alfredo Angulo stopped Richar Gutierrez in the fifth round of an action-packed brawl. In Gamboa, Kirkland and Angulo, the sport has three undefeated young fighters who could be champions some day. It was a pleasure to see them all in one night.
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