Yuriorkis Gamboa


Yuriorkis Gamboa Toledano is a Cuban professional boxer. He held the World Boxing Association featherweight title from 2009 to 2011, and the International Boxing Federation featherweight title from 2010 to 2011. As an amateur, he won a gold medal in the flyweight division at the 2004 Olympics, and a bronze in the featherweight division at the 2005 World Championships.
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Amateur highlights

Gamboa's 2004 Olympic Boxing results were:

Defection

While training in Venezuela, Gamboa, along with Cuban teammates Odlanier Solís and Yan Bartelemí, snuck out of camp and found their way to Colombia and eventually to Germany, where they applied for visas to enter the United States. Before defecting, he had sold his Olympic gold medal to support his family.

Professional career

Debut in Germany

Gamboa made his professional boxing debut on 27 April 2007, in Hamburg, Germany against Alexan Manvelyan. He prepared for his pro debut and his next seven fights with technical specialist Manny Masson. Gamboa put Manvelyan on the canvas in the third round and won via unanimous decision victory. Two months later, he defeated when Sachbazjan retired before the beginning of round four.

Debut in the United States

After winning his first four fights in Germany, Gamboa made his United States debut on 30 October 2007, at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida, against Adailton De Jesus, who was dropped to the canvas halfway through the first round. A Gamboa slip in the fourth round was ruled a knockdown by the referee. Gamboa's relentless pressure eventually forced a stoppage in the sixth and final round.
Gamboa fought Gilberto Luque on 5 January 2008, at Bally's Hotel & Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Gamboa sent his opponent to the canvas less than 30 seconds into first round with a left hand. After two more knockdowns, the referee stopped the fight. On 22 February 2008, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, he made his American television debut against Johnnie Edwards. Gamboa knocked Edwards down in the first 30 seconds of the fight after connecting with a left hand to the head. Edwards got up, but was met with left-hand punches from Gamboa, ending with two consecutive right hands that knocked Edwards down for the second and final time as the referee moved in and halted the fight in round one. Gamboa won the vacant WBC-NABF super featherweight title.
On 17 May 2008, at Buffalo Bill's Star Arena in Primm, Nevada, Gamboa fought Darling Jimenez. Gamboa started off well in the first three rounds of the fight, swarming Jimenez and hitting him with punches over and over but got careless and was knocked down by a right hand behind the ear from Jimenez. Gamboa got up and finished the fight strong, winning by unanimous decision and claiming the vacant WBC International super featherweight title. After the fight, Gamboa's promoter Ahmet Öner fired Gamboa's trainer Osmiri Fernandez, replacing him with Ismeal Salas. On 18 July 2008, stepping down to featherweight, Gamboa scored a first-round technical knockout victory over Al Seeger to win the vacant WBO-NABO featherweight title at Buffalo Bill's Star Arena. A left hook to the body set up a right hand that landed across Seeger's face, causing him to collapse backwards flat onto the canvas. The referee stepped over Seeger without bothering to count, officially stopping the bout.
On 5 October 2008, Gamboa stepped up in class and fought Marcos Ramirez, a Kansas City featherweight in Temecula, California. Gamboa exhibited amazing hand speed and quick combination punching in the first round before he was dropped by Ramirez. Gamboa quickly came to his feet and resumed fighting until the bell rang to signify the end of the round. In the second round, Gamboa picked up where he left off and knocked Ramirez down with a fast right uppercut, followed by another combination. Ramirez let the referee administer the eight count before rising to his feet. Gamboa then finished the fight by pressuring Ramirez into the ropes and landing a left hook to the body, followed by a right uppercut to the jaw. Gamboa's next fight took place at Buffalo Bill's Star Arena on 9 January 2009 against Roger Gonzalez. Gamboa used quick combinations from the beginning of the third round to relentlessly attack Gonzalez. Gamboa began his assault after going down during the second round, after absorbing a sneaky right hand by Gonzalez. The referee halted the one-sided bout with 48 seconds remaining after Gonzalez sustained a barrage of punches to the head. Gamboa led 89-82 on one judge's scorecard and 89-83 on the other two judges' cards through nine rounds.
On 20 February 2009, Gamboa fought Walter Estrada at The University Center at Nova Southeastern University. Gamboa knocked out Estrada with a left hook to the body followed by a right hand to the face 25 seconds into the fight.

Featherweight

On 17 April 2009 Gamboa stopped Jose Rojas via tenth-round TKO to win the WBA interim featherweight title. On 10 October 2009 Gamboa stopped Whyber Garcia in the fourth round to win the WBA featherweight title.
On 23 January 2010, at the WaMu Theater in Madison Square Garden, he defeated Rogers Mtagwa in two rounds. Gamboa buzzed Mtagwa several times from several angles and scored a knockdown in the final ten seconds with a counter hook. He continued the damage in the second round, battering Mtagwa and sending him down two more times before the fight was stopped. On 27 March 2010 at Hamburg, Germany Gamboa dominated Argentinian boxer Jonathan Victor Barros in twelve rounds to retain the WBA featherweight title with a unanimous decision.

Gamboa vs. Salido

On 11 September 2010, Gamboa fought The ''Ring'' No. 3 ranked featherweight Orlando Salido to unify the WBA and IBF featherweight titles with the result being Gamboa winning by unanimous decision. Salido knocked down Gamboa in the eighth round. Gamboa knocked Salido down twice in the twelfth round, but was docked two points for hitting Salido in the back of his head while Salido was down. With this win Gamboa became the first Cuban boxer to hold the IBF world title since the organization's inception.

Gamboa vs. Solís

On 26 March 2011 Gamboa fought Jorge Solís to defend his WBA featherweight title. Although the fight was originally agreed to contest both of Gamboa's WBA and IBF featherweight titles, Gamboa missed a mandatory re-weighing procedure established by the IBF which resulted in the title being withdrawn. The fight lasted only four rounds after Gamboa sent Solis to the floor a total of five times, causing referee David Fields to stop the fight, giving Gamboa the victory by TKO. After the fight, Gamboa was interviewed, a moment that Gamboa took advantage of to express his awareness and support towards the victims of Japan's latest earthquake and tsunami. Gamboa also took the opportunity to proclaim his desire to fight higher caliber featherweight boxers such as Indonesian Chris John and Puerto Rican Juan Manuel López, who was attending the fight as a spectator and decided to come up to the ring and proclaim his desire for a possible fight with Gamboa as he also made the observation that it was a business decision to be taken by their shared promoter Bob Arum.

Gamboa vs. de León

On 10 September 2011, Gamboa fought Ring top 10 ranked featherweight Daniel Ponce de León in a non-title fight. Gamboa managed to connect more punches in every round to keep the scorecards in his favor. Although there were not many exchanges, Gamboa's hand speed and reflexes were on display as he connected with quick and short combinations and managed to avoid some of de León's left swings with his characteristic upper body movement. In the eighth round, during a short exchange, Gamboa and de León accidentally clashed heads, resulting in de León suffering a cut to his forehead, consequently the referee stopped the fight and asked de León's corner to check the boxer's wound. After having tried and failed to stop the bleeding it was determined by de León's team that their fighter was unable to continue in the fight.
On 26 October 2011, Gamboa hired world-famous Emanuel Steward as his head trainer. Gamboa was initially set to return in April 2012 against lightweight champion Brandon Rios, but he pulled out of the bout citing problems with his contract with Top Rank. After a long dispute between Gamboa and Top Rank, the two sides agreed to part ways, with Gamboa's contract being bought out for a flat fee. In July 2012, Gamboa signed a promotional contract with 50 Cent and Floyd Mayweather's promotional company, The Money Team Promotions.

Super featherweight

After the 50 Cent-Mayweather TMT Promotions never came to fruition, 50 Cent decided to make his own promotional company SMS Promotions and officially signed Gamboa. 50 Cent worked with Top Rank's Bob Arum and Mayweather's rival Manny Pacquiao. Gamboa then landed a fight on the undercard of Manny Pacquiao vs. Juan Manuel Márquez IV on 8 December 2012. He fought Michael Farenas, who fought to a draw in his previous fight with WBA title holder Takashi Uchiyama. Gamboa was show boating throughout the fight while Farenas maintained his focus. Farenas was dropped twice which gave Gamboa more confidence, dropping his hands occasionally. In the ninth round Gamboa tried to finish Farenas off with a barrage of punches but Farenas countered him with a left hook that dropped Gamboa. Gamboa stopped show boating after the ninth round, winning the fight by unanimous decision.

Performance-enhancing drug scandal

As he was moving up to lightweight, Gamboa was linked to performance-enhancing drugs through the Biogenesis scandal, which included Alex Rodriguez.

Lightweight

Gamboa eventually moved up in weight to take on undefeated Darleys Pérez for the vacant WBA interim lightweight title. Gamboa dropped Pérez in the first round and easily won most of the follow-up rounds, Yuriorkis continued to have success on the outside winning almost all the middle rounds as well. Gamboa although fighting at an unusually measured pace at times consistently beat Pérez to the punch amassing a clear lead in the bout. Pérez came alive momentarily to drop Gamboa in the eleventh but this was ruled a slip and Yuriorkis Gamboa won a comfortable unanimous decision improving to 23–0.

Gamboa vs. Crawford

On 28 June 2014 Gamboa faced off against undefeated WBO titlist Terence Crawford on HBO Boxing After Dark. Gamboa got off to a hot start, winning the first four rounds and using his superior foot speed and hand speed but was caught and dropped by a right hook in the fifth round. Gamboa continued to fight back but was dropped again in the eighth and finally was stopped in the ninth round after two knockdowns and a huge right hook by Crawford. "We were just two warriors in the ring trying to get the victory, and he won." stated Gamboa after the bout. This was Gamboa's first loss as a professional ending his undefeated streak.

Career from 2014

After losing to Crawford, Gamboa started to become less active. He won three straight fights before suffering an upset loss against Robinson Castellanos. Gamboa faced Jason Sosa on 25 November 2017 stepping in as a late replacement for Robinson Castellanos, Yuriorkis won a controversial majority decision. On July 27, 2019, Gamboa fought Roman Martinez. Gamboa knocked out Martinez in the second round.

Gamboa vs. Davis

On December 28, 2019, Gamboa fought Gervonta Davis for the vacant WBA lightweight title. Davis was ranked #1, while Gamboa was ranked #2 at lightweight by the WBA. Davis knocked down Gamboa three times en route to a twelfth-round technical knockout win.

Gamboa vs. Haney

In his next fight, Gamboa challenged Devin Haney for his WBC lightweight title. Gamboa was ranked #10 by the WBC, while Haney was the world's number two lightweight according to The Ring magazine rankings. Haney completely outboxed Gamboa en route to a unanimous decision victory, 120–107, 120–107 and 118–109 on the scorecards.

Professional boxing record

No.ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes
35Loss30–5Isaac CruzTKO5, 1:3216 Apr 2022
AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas, U.S.		For vacant WBO Inter-Continental lightweight title
34Loss30–4Devin HaneyUD127 Nov 2020Hard Rock Live, Hollywood, Florida, U.S.For WBC lightweight title
33Loss30–3Gervonta DavisTKO12, 1:1728 Dec 2019State Farm Arena, Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.For vacant WBA (Regular) lightweight title
32Win30–2Román MartínezKO2, 2:0027 Jul 2019Royal Farms Arena, Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
31Win29–2Miguel Beltrán Jr.UD1010 Nov 2018Marlins Park, Miami, Florida, U.S.
30Win28–2Jason SosaMD1025 Nov 2017The Theater at Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.
29Win27–2Alexis Reyes1012 Aug 2017Arena Oasis, Cancún, Mexico
28Loss26–2Robinson CastellanosRTD7, 3:005 May 2017Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.
27Win26–1René AlvaradoUD1011 Mar 2017Turning Stone Resort Casino, Verona, New York, U.S.
26Win25–1Hylon Williams Jr.UD1019 Dec 2015Turning Stone Resort Casino, Verona, New York, U.S.
25Win24–1Joel Montes de OcaTKO6, 1:1315 Nov 2014Plaza de Toros, Cancún, Mexico
24Loss23–1Terence CrawfordKO9, 2:5328 Jun 2014CenturyLink Center, Omaha, Nebraska, U.S.For WBO lightweight title
23Win23–0Darleys PérezUD128 Jun 2013Bell Centre, Montreal, Quebec, CanadaWon WBA vacant interim lightweight title
22Win22–0Michael FarenasUD128 Dec 2012MGM Grand Garden Arena, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.Won WBA interim super featherweight title
21Win21–0Daniel Ponce de León8, 1:2410 Sep 2011Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.Unanimous TD after de León cut from accidental head clash
20Win20–0Jorge SolísTKO4, 1:3126 Mar 2011Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.Retained WBA featherweight title
19Win19–0Orlando SalidoUD1211 Sep 2010Pearl Concert Theater, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.Retained WBA featherweight title;
Won vacant IBF featherweight title
18Win18–0Jonathan Victor BarrosUD1227 Mar 2010Alsterdorfer Sporthalle, Hamburg, GermanyRetained WBA featherweight title
17Win17–0Rogers MtagwaKO2, 2:3523 Jan 2010The Theater at Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.Retained WBA featherweight title
16Win16–0Whyber GarciaTKO4, 0:5810 Oct 2009The Theater at Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.Retained WBA (Regular) featherweight title
15Win15–0Jose RojasTKO10, 1:3117 Apr 2009Star of the Desert Arena, Primm, Nevada, U.S.Won vacant WBA interim featherweight title
14Win14–0Walter EstradaKO1, 0:3520 Feb 2009Don Taft University Center, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, U.S.
13Win13–0Roger GonzalezTKO10, 2:129 Jan 2009Star of the Desert Arena, Primm, Nevada, U.S.
12Win12–0Marcos RamirezKO2, 1:414 Oct 2008Pechanga Resort & Casino, Temecula, California, U.S.
11Win11–0Al SeegerTKO2, 2:3018 Jul 2008Star of the Desert Arena, Primm, Nevada, U.S.Won vacant WBO–NABO featherweight title
10Win10–0Darling JimenezUD1017 May 2008Star of the Desert Arena, Primm, Nevada, U.S.Won vacant WBC International super featherweight title
9Win9–0Johnnie EdwardsTKO1, 1:3422 Feb 2008Xtreme Action Park, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, U.S.Won vacant NABF super featherweight title
8Win8–0Gilberto LuqueTKO1, 1:545 Jan 2008Bally's, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
7Win7–0Adailton de JesusTKO6, 0:3530 Oct 2007Hard Rock Live, Hollywood, Florida, U.S.
6Win6–0Samuel KebedeTKO2, 2:1119 Oct 2007Estrel Hotel, Berlin, Germany
5Win5–0Nestor Hugo Paniagua1, 1:0521 Sep 2007Hansehalle, Lübeck, Germany
4Win4–0Thomas HengstbergerTKO1, 1:042 Sep 2007Universal Hall, Berlin, Germany
3Win3–0Joel Mayo2, 0:356 Jul 2007Arena Gym, Hamburg, Germany
2Win2–0Araik Sachbazjan3, 3:0016 Jun 2007Atatürk Sport Hall, Ankara, Turkey
1Win1–0Alexan Manvelyan427 Apr 2007Arena Gym, Hamburg, Germany