By Jim Dower: In a tougher than expected win, WBO lightweight champion Terence Crawford (24-0, 17 KO’s) survived being buzzed in the 9th round to come back and stop former IBF/WBA featherweight champion Yuriorkis Gamboa (23-1, 16 KO’s) on Saturday night at the CenturyLink Center, in Omaha, Nebraska, USA. Crawford knocked Gamboa down 4 times in the fight with 2 of the knockdowns occurring in the 9th. Gamboa was also down in the 5th and 8th rounds.
Gamboa dominated the action in the first 4 rounds by landing the better shots while making Crawford miss, but in the 5th, Crawford caught Gamboa with a big left hook to the head. He followed it up with another left to knock Gamboa down. In the 6th, Gamboa came back to dominate the action. But in the 8th, Crawford knocked Gamboa down with a right hand to the head. Near the end of the round, Crawford staggered Gamboa.
In the 9th, Gamboa staggered Crawford with a big shot, but while trying to finish him off, Gamboa got nailed by a big shot and put down. Gamboa’s legs were totally gone after he got back to his feet. He tried to clinch but Crawford continued to fire on him until he knocked Gamboa down for the final time.
After the fight, Crawford wouldn’t commit to who he wants to fight next. He previously talked about wanting to move up to light welterweight. He’d be effective against some of the guys at that weight such as WBO light welterweight champion Chris Algieri. Crawford would have problems against a big puncher like Ruslan Provodnikov.
Crawford had big problems with Gamboa’s speed in the early rounds, and if he hadn’t been able to hurt him, he likely would have lost the fight.
Gamboa needs to move down in weight to super featherweight or preferably featherweight. He’s too small to be fighting at lightweight, because the guys in this weight class are huge. There’s guys that are 5’10” and he just doesn’t have the size to be competing with fighters of that size.
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#3 WBO, #9 IBF, #12 WBA, #14 WBC Matt Karobov (24-0, 14 KO’s) defeated previously unbeaten knockout artist Jose Uzcategui (22-1, 18 KO’s) by a 10 round unanimous decision on Saturday night to win the vacant WBO Inter-Continental middleweight title. The final judges’ scores were 97-91, 97-91, and 96-92.
Korobov, 31, knocked the 23-year-old Uzcategui down twice in the 7th round, which was easily the most exciting round of what was a very dull fight.
Korobov was cut over the right eye in the 5th round from a head-butt.
The fight was booed constantly due to the lack of action from both fighters. Korobov had the better power, and was by far the most skilled fighter of the two. However, Korobov showed stamina issues throughout the fight, as he was only capable of throwing a few handful of punches without needing a rest break. The stamina issues have followed Korobov throughout his career, and it’s not surprising that they’re still with him now that he’s been a pro for 6 years.
Uzcategui came into the fight with a glittering knockout record, but it was immediately clear that he few skills and that his record was totally padded. Uzcategui didn’t belong in the same ring, even with a very average fighter like Korobov.
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Undefeated welterweight prospect Mikael Zewski (24-0, 19 KO’s) showed good power in stopping Prince Doku Jr (18-6, 12 KO’s) in the 4th round on Saturday night to capture the vacant NABF welterweight title.
Zewski, 25, knocked Doku Jr down with a flurry of shots after hurting him with a big left hook while trading with him on the ropes. Doku Jr was then counted out by referee Jay Nady at 1:05 of the round.
Zewski stalked Doku Jr around the ring the entire fight, nailing him with big single shots while dodging the return fire thrown at him. Zewski’s hand speed isn’t that great, but his power is very impressive. He’s able to make up for what he lacks in speed by having really heavy hands.
Other results on the card:
Johnny Determan NC 3 Ernie Marquez
Vic Pasillas UD 6 Jiovany Fuentes
Casey Ramos UD 6 Guillermo Sanchez
Bernard Davis UD 4 Heath Cline
Cody Crowley KO 2 Ronnie Peterson
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