Crawford v Gamboa
Passing of the torch?
With Floyd ‘Money’ Mayweather threatening retirement the big question must be, Who takes over from him as the worlds best boxer? There are so many governing bodies and titles these days that the real boxing fan tends to pay more attention to ‘Ring magazine’ and lb for lb ratings to determine who is the main man.
We may need to look no further for that man than June 28th 2014, when Terence Crawford defends his WBO lightweight title against Yuriorkis Gamboa. Mayweather has previously stated that when he retires either Broner or Gamboa will be the man to take his mantle. With ‘The Problem’ exposed against Maidana and the emergence of the so far flawless Crawford this fight could be huge for the future of the sport.
I am aiming to try to make a case for both fighters to rule the pound for pound rankings for years to come by discussing their ability, power, marketability and most importantly the fight itself.
The story so far.
Amazingly these guys have identical records 23-0 (16) so no difference there. Crawford’s best wins have been a shutout points victory over previous John Molina conquerer Andrey Klimov 16-0 at the time and his world title victory over Ricky Burns 36-2. Gamboa has stopped Jorge Solis 41-2 in 4 rounds for his title win and impressively stopped Daniel Ponce De Leon 41-3. This probably edges the quality aspect in favor of Gamboa but these wins were in lower weight classes.
Who wants it more?
Tough call. Like many deprived Americans, boxing was a savior for Crawford. If he didn’t box he would be in a bad place, mixing with the wrong people. He even survived a gunshot to the head a few years back so he knows how important a good boxing career is.
Conversely, Gamboa is giving up a lot to be a world class boxer. As many know it is forbidden to turn professional in your sport in Cuba. While in a Venezuelan training camp Gamboa, Odlandier Solis and Yan Berthelemy snuck out, making there way to Germany via Columbia in order to apply for a visa to the United States. Fighters who turn professional in Cuba have no choice but to defect so they need to be serious about it. Before leaving Gamboa sold his olympic gold medal to support his family.
Legacy
Legacy is built by your opponents not your titles. I can’t believe that Crawford has taken this fight. I’m very impressed but I’m just surprised by it especially for a first defence. There are many softer options that he could have taken. I fully expected Raymundo Beltran to get the nod. Even as a Scot I can’t deny that Beltran should have won the title from Ricky Burns and he is rated highly by the WBO so a Crawford v Beltran fight would have been acceptable and Crawford would win comfortably. He could have also fought a Roman Martinez or a Paulus Moses. Even if he decided to unify the titles that would be an easier option than Gamboa, Richar Abril is extremely beatable as is Figeroua. Only Miguel Vasquez represents a big test. If Crawford keeps making these kind of opponent decisions and keeps winning he will build a great reputation.
Gamboa doesn’t seem to know which weight he wants to fight at. However he has also been brave. His last win over Perez made him mandatory for Richar Abril’s WBA title which he would have easily won. Gamboa has been back and forth with injuries and realizes that he needs the big fights sooner rather than later. This may be a step to far. For me Gamboa’s career defining fight will be against someone like Nonito Donaire or an all Cuban affair against Guillermo Rigondeaux at 126 or 130lbs.
Marketabilty and Longevity
As previously stated the stats seem to match up equally. Not so, Crawford is 26 years old and Gamboa is 32. Crawford is unlikely to spend his whole career at Lightweight. At around 5 foot 8 inches he has the size and frame to move up to the welterweight ranks in time. Gamboa is only 5 foot 5 or so and when he won his olympic gold he fought as a flyweight. We all know that the big money and the big fights are in the higher weight classes and I don’t think Gamboa can go any higher. With Terence being an American and also a less arrogant yet assured version of Adrien Broner he should be quite a popular character in the coming years.
Who Wins?
On ability so far Terence Crawford hasn’t really been tested with the exception of the first 4 rounds against Burns. Gamboa has been knocked down a couple of times but never badly hurt. When we talk about a fighting style Crawford is probably the first guy since Mayweather that can change during a fight. Orthodox or southpaw doesn’t seem to make a difference nor does fighting on the front or back foot. Gamboa has really fast hands and is brilliant at leaping in with the left hook but he is giving up at leat a 5 inch reach advantage.
They say a good big guy always beats a good little guy and in this case I agree. These are two of the best out there but I think the physical differences favor Crawford too much.
For Terence Crawford the sky is the limit.
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