YURIORKIS GAMBOA vs WHYBER GARCIA

In his last fight, Cuban ace Yuriorkis Gamboa seemed to be boxing well within himself before eventually stopping veteran Jose Rojas in the 10th round. It’s getting to be that we don’t know what to expect from the Olympic gold medallist.

Sometimes Gamboa is a ball of fire, as when he ripped through Al Seeger and Johnnie Edwards in one-round wipeouts or when he destroyed the useful Marcos Ramirez in two rounds. Then there is the other Gamboa, the one who seems to be playing around, making classy moves but not really going after his opponent, as in the fights with Rojas and Roger Gonzalez, when the stoppage wins came much later than had been expected.

Perhaps we are “due” a dynamic performance from Gamboa when he defends his WBA featherweight title against Whyber Garcia, the 28-year-old Panamanian journeyman, on Saturday night’s Island Warriors: Latin Fury 12 show.

This is a fight that looks made for Gamboa to achieve an impressive, inside-schedule victory. Garcia has won his last two bouts, but he has been stopped four times. Jorge Linares halted him in five rounds last November and fellow-Panamanian Roinet Caballero overwhelmed him in a couple of rounds. Perhaps it wasn’t surprising that Garcia failed to get out of the first round against Edwin Valero, because the Venezuelan banger has blitzed a lot of fighters inside three minutes. The point is, though, that Garcia hasn’t shown himself to be terribly durable under fire. He was willing and aggressive against Linares and gave the unbeaten Venezuelan some uncomfortable moments, but when Garcia got caught cleanly in the fifth round his legs quickly took on a rubbery look.

Garcia had a good win in his last fight, though, when he outpointed Santos Martinez, a Nicaraguan who had stopped seven of his last eight opponents. From what I have seen of Garcia he isn’t elusive — he seems prepared to take some chances as he tries to land his right hands and left hooks. If Garcia is true to form, and comes to fight and not merely to try to survive, he should bring out the best in Gamboa and the fight thus could be lively for as long as it lasts.

Gamboa will box in the manner that suits his mood, but I would like to see him live up to his potential, letting his punches go and looking to make a statement. If he does this, I don’t think that Garcia will see the second half of the fight. I’m expecting Gamboa to win in about six rounds.