By Aragon Garcia: Yuriorkis Gamboa is ready to prove many people wrong tonight when he shoots for an upset against WBC lightweight belt holder Devin Haney. The fight will be shown live on DAZN at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida.
Many boxing fans are writing off the 38-year-old former IBF/WBA featherweight champion Gamboa (30-3, 18 KOs) because of his age. Gamboa hasn’t aged like other fighters, and he still looks like his mid-20s. His hand speed and punching is above the majority of the top 135-pounders.
Indeed, Gamboa is faster, stronger, and moves better than the 21-year-old Haney. Despite being 17 years older than Haney, Gamboa is still faster and more powerful. Gamboa has been blessed with great genetics, and he’s got the raw ability that Haney will never possess.
The way that Gamboa is aging is similar to Benjamin Button from the movie about a person that ages in reverse with each passing year. That’s potentially bad news for Haney, who could be exposed tonight and put in his place by Gamboa.
Gamboa wants to assure the fans that he’s still the same fighter physically as he was when he won his world titles at 126 a decade ago and captured a gold medal in the 2004 Olympics.
Yuriorkis not worried about being the underdog
“I feel very good, and I made weight perfectly,” Gamboa said to Fighthype. “As for my Achilles, it’s healed, and for the last four months, I’ve been doing a great training camp.
“Fans are always going to have their opinions, and you cannot worry about every single fans’ opinion,” Yuriorkis about him being viewed as the underdog against Haney.
Haney is going to need to keep the action on the outside at all costs, and not let Gamboa get near him to land. Gamboa is too powerful and quick for Haney, and he’ll knock him out if he’s able to land his shots.
Haney looked worried, confused, and lost in his last fight against Alfredo Santiago (12-1, 4 KOs) last year in November. When Santiago started putting it on Haney, he was falling apart mentally and physically.
If Santiago had more talent, he would have taken Haney out and handed him his first career defeat. The judges scored the fight a lot wider than it appeared to be. They scored it 120-107, 120-107, and 120-107.
Aragon Garcia had that fight for Haney by a 116-112 margin. Yes, Haney won the fight, but by eight rounds to four margins in the eyes of this writer.
Yes, people always have an opinion fights, and they’re often wrong with their predictions. When you look at how great fighters like 54-year-old Mike Tyson looks, you’ll begin to understand that Gamboa’s age is nothing. He’s not old as some boxing fans believe him to be.
Gamboa’s last fight against Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis showed that he’s still in his prime, considering that he gave him his toughest career test. What was special about what Gamboa did was the fact that he fought on just one good leg after injuring his Achilles in the second round.
Gamboa says he’s the same fighter as always
“I’m the same. There’s no difference just the age. More experience and to avoid doing stupid decisions inside the ring. Watch the fight,” Gamboa said when asked if he’s just coming for a paycheck.
You can certainly say that Gamboa is still the same fighter that defeated Orlando Salido and Daniel Ponce De Leon over a decade ago. Gamboa is still the same fighter that came close to beating a prime Terence Crawford in 2014.
The way that Gamboa was competitive with Crawford, there’s no chance that Haney would be able to do the same thing if he fought him. That’s why it’s a mistake for boxing fans to assume that Haney is going to win with 100% certainty tonight.
Haney is taking a big step up in class, and he’s not had the preliminary fights to get him prepared for what he’s going to be dealing with when he gets in there with Gamboa tonight.