YURIORKIS GAMBOA vs DARLING JIMENEZ

Cuba’s red-hot prospect Yuriorkis Gamboa is hurtling along the fast track towards a championship and so far everyone has been swept away. The opposition inevitably is getting tougher, and in tonight’s main event on HBO Boxing After Dark Gamboa meets his most serious test so far in the person of Darling Jimenez, a four-time New York Golden Gloves champion who has lost only twice in 27 bouts.

Gamboa is taking part in only his 10th professional fight and most up-and-coming boxers are not matched against someone this tough, this early. Gamboa seems to be something special, though, and the Olympic gold medallist is, at the age of 26, a mature young man and a physically imposing presence. Despite his limited pro experience he would be favoured to beat most of the world-ranked fighters in the junior lightweight division. All he needs is a bit more experience and a little extra polish.

If there is a criticism of Gamboa it is that he can charge in recklessly at times, and he did suffer a flash knockdown against the Brazilian Adailton De Jesus although he was more off balance than anything.

Gamboa’s sheer exuberance, though, is a joy to behold. He gets right down to business and likes to hurt the other man as quickly as possible, as shown by his record, with six wins coming inside two rounds.

Jimenez, though, is a significant step up from anyone Gamboa has fought. Born in the Dominican Republic, Jimenez is a fundamentally solid boxer-puncher with excellent hand speed. His only losses were on close points decisions to seasoned Mexicans Miguel Angel Huerta and Fernando Trejo.

In his last fight, Jimenez impressively knocked out former junior lightweight champ Mike Anchondo in three rounds to end his opponent’s career. The left hook that finished the fight left Anchondo blank-eyed on the canvas in a rather alarming finish. Clearly, Jimenez has good punching power: he has stopped his last six opponents, three of them in the first round. He sometimes switches to southpaw, but the left hook from the orthodox stance seems to be his most dangerous weapon.

Yet while this is Gamboa’s riskiest fight, it is one he is expected to win. He was spectacular in knocking out the ex-military champion Johnnie Edwards in 94 seconds in his last fight. The Cuban’s combination of speed and power can be overwhelming to his opponents, who are not used to be attacked so vigorously, so early.

The interesting thing about tonight’s fight will be whether Jimenez can withstand the expected early onslaught and come back with his own telling shots to slow down Gamboa a little. The left hook of Jimenez could be a threat to Gamboa, especially if he can catch him coming in, but the Cuban’s rapid movement and the speed and variety of his punches could bedazzle the New York boxer.

This is not going to be another Gamboa one-round blowout but I do expect him to start breaking through with heavy shots by the middle rounds. Jimenez has a good defence and has never shown a chin problem to my knowledge, but he has never faced a whirlwind offensive such as the one that Gamboa is expected to unleash. I think that somewhere around the eighth or ninth round the referee will be stepping in to save Jimenez from needless punishment.

RESULT: Gamboa unan. dec.