Maybe He Should Have Fought Rios? Crawford KOs Gamboa in Wild War.
Two years ago Yuriorkis Gamboa walked out on a fight with then Lightweight champion Brandon Rios and promoter Top Rank, opting to take a gamble with fledgling promoter Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson. Gamboa hoped that the partnership with the rap mogul would take him to new heights, but instead he found himself in a tailspin which ultimately cumulated in his knockout loss to Terence Crawford last weekend.
The loss to Crawford came in a stunning fight, but a fight that Gamboa was never really going to win anyway. Being smaller and shorter than his foe was one thing, but Gamboa couldn't possibly have been prepared for what Crawford was bringing into the ring. Under Jackson, Gamboa had only fought twice in two years and was competing in a division where he ceded any possible advantages he had outside of experience.
Gamboa's fast start came to a screeching halt in the fifth when Crawford landed the first of his four knockdowns, and he never came in sniffing distance of winning. The ninth round, when Crawford knocked Gamboa out, was particularly brutal. Considering how long it took Jackson to get Gamboa into a fight of this magnitude despite his popularity, it might be safe to assume we've seen the last of Gamboa on the main stage.
Crawford has options at both 135 and 140 if he decides to move up. The most obvious option would be for Crawford to fight Rey Beltran, which would be easy to make being that both fighters are coming off of impressive wins and are promoted by Top Rank. Chris Algieri and Jesse Vargas loom for title challenges at Junior Welterweight, but so does disposed ex-champion Ruslan Provodnikov. Mikey Garcia might be going to court to separate from Top Rank, leaving him out of the picture for now.
The biggest winner is Bob Arum, who was notoriously bitter about the way Gamboa throttled the Rios promotion a few years back and was able to see his new charge in Crawford rise to the spotlight at his expense.
Haymon Card Reeks of Low Quality Matchmaking.
Boxing's not-so-silent cold war has been a matter of debate for the past few months, but one thing has remained consistent: Al Haymon is the most powerful man in boxing. The amount of fighters Haymon has under his belt is ridiculous, and he just added two more fighters in IBF Lightweight champion Miguel Vasquez and former Olympian Vanes Martirosyan.
Not to mention that Haymon is flaunting his ability to make fights happen with the absolutely putrid card Showtime is airing on August 9, with Danny Garcia and Lamont Peterson co-headlining a card against a pair of opponents that are just as likely to be sparring with them in the gym. Should the card be a precursor to a Garcia/Peterson fight on Floyd Mayweather's return fight this September, I can accept that, but for these two guys to have to reach that far down to pluck an easy fight is ridiculous.
Garcia, who has endured one of the absolute toughest fight schedules in recent years, getting a soft touch is fine, but what about Peterson? Peterson fought an extremely untested and overly green Dierry Jean last January only to turn around and fight the exact same kind of opponent in two months time. The real problem is that if Garcia and Peterson aren't taking these guys as seriously as they should and put in two awful performances...why would we want to see them fight each other?
Sell High on Bradley/Cotto.
One of the most absurd rumors that is unfortunately gaining traction is that talks are starting to stage a potential Middleweight title clash between WBC champion Miguel Cotto and former two-division champion Timothy Bradley this winter. Bradley, who we last saw dropping a decision loss to Manny Pacquiao this past April, has never fought above Welterweight and hasn't convinced anyone that he could make it at 154 let alone a proposed catchweight of 155 pounds.
Cotto's past two fights have been promoted by Top Rank, but he himself is a free agent. A fight with Bradley would just be an easy win for him as well as a way for Top Rank to lock in options for additional fights. A Middleweight champion shouldn't be fighting a Welterweight, especially one who's probably too small for that division, and there are PLENTY of guys at 160 that would jump at the chance to fight a legend like Cotto.
Of course, maybe the reason we may be hearing about this fight is because Cotto's camp doesn't like his chances against the 160 class now that Cotto beat the only one-legged, 40-year-old champion they could find. I'm hoping we don't see this fight happen, at least not as high as they're proposing. Can't Top Rank just get James Kirkland for Cotto?
The Furious Flurries
- If anybody is ready for a push into the mainstream, it's Errol Spence Jr. That kid is unbelievable and beyond his record of 13-0. Spence has the tools and the talent to get fast-tracked to bigger fights, and I hope that's exactly what we get in the future.
- The comeback to nowhere continues for Shannon Briggs. Briggs, the former WBO Heavyweight champion, outpointed Raphael Love to win a nondescript title and keeping his delusions alive for another shot at the Heavyweight title. At 42, Briggs can still beat guys like Love without any trouble, but his performance did little to suggest he'll be chasing down gold anytime soon.
- Matt Koborov was co-featured on last weekend's card, but he looks like he has ways to go before he can be a factor at 160. Koborov is 31 and is still being brought along slowly, suggesting that maybe there's something off on the prospects game.
Potent Quoatables
"I will knock him out cold and wake him up with my dick in his mouth."
-Heavyweight contender Dominick Guinn on a fight ...at least that's what I hope he's talking about...with undefeated Brit Tyson Fury.
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