By Ryan Wardle: Current WBO featherweight champion Mikey Garcia ( 31-0, 26 KOs) is coming off of the best win of his career after having defeated Orlando Salido. He scored four knockdowns in a dominating performance back on January 19th, the bout was stopped after the 8th round due to an accidental headbutt that broke Garcia’s nose. In his post-fight interview Garcia said that he would be willing to fight Yuriorkis Gamboa ( 22-0, 16 KOs), this would make for a good fight between two exciting and undefeated fighters.
Mikey Garcia boasts power in both hands, he is known for his powerful right hand and in his fight against Salido he showed off the power in his left by throwing thunderous left hooks. Garcia is also a good technical boxer who shows patience in the ring and often lets the fight come to him instead of recklessly charging his opponents.
Gamboa is also coming off of a dominant victory, he easily outpointed Michael Farenas last December. Gamboa is a very offensive fighter who uses a lot of movement, he also has very good hand speed and excellent technical boxing skills. Gamboa’s biggest weakness is that he has shown to have a weak chin as he has tasted the canvas on several occasions. His name has also recently surfaced in the investigation of a Miami based anti-aging clinic linked to PED’s, which could make this fight more difficult to schedule.
For the fight to happen Garcia would likely have to move up to super featherweight. Garcia would come into the ring with a 3 inch reach advantage over Gamboa, and Gamboa would probably weigh-in the bigger man on the night of the fight.
Garcia’s biggest advantage is coupled with Gamboa’s biggest weakness. If Garcia can touch Gamboa with his power, his chin may have a hard time standing up to Garcia’s vicious punches, giving the knockout edge to Garcia. Gamboa’s biggest advantage comes with the fact that he has incredible hand speed and he is the more technically skilled of the two fighters. If his chin can withstand Garcia’s punches, Gamboa could have the technical edge to outpoint Garcia.
In any event this fight is one of the more exciting fights to be made at the lower weight classes. Hopefully this fight happens, because it promises excitement from two offensive minded fighters and many fight fans would be pleased with this matchup.
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