Terence Crawford(WBO Lightweight Champion) vs Yuriokis Gamboa - A slower week for boxing, but this is an interesting matchup at Lightweight and in Crawfords hometown of Omaha. Crawford is defending his title for the first time, having won it in his previous fight by manhandling former champion Ricky Burns for a wide decision. Due to promotional issues, his opponent Gamboa has been somewhat inactive over the past three years after being one of the big up-and-comers a few years back. Both fighters are undefeated. On to the breakdown... The challenger Gamboa is a boxer-puncher that has a style very much based on raw athletic ability. He is very fast in terms of foot and hand speed, with explosive power(though mostly explosive at lower weights, not proven at Lightweight yet), and solid if a bit unorthodox technique. His best punches are the straight right hand and the left hook, which he often throws in combination. Likes to put his punches together in flurries when his opponent is on the ropes or in the corner. More of a headhunter type, and he does tend to fade as a fight goes on, and is very short for the Lightweight division, so his physical strength is a question mark. Defensively, Gamboa is all about his speed, he has a wide open guard but is so fast that hes tough to catch, especially with the fear of his fast counters. Ive yet to see him seriously hurt by any shot, but he has been dropped a fair amount. When he gets caught, it tends to be when hes off balance so that probably explains him getting dropped. The champion Crawford is also a boxer-puncher, but with a different style. He has pretty quick hands and decent foot speed, but he mostly likes to come forward aggressively with good blocking and shoulder roll type defense, and then he lets his hands go. He can counterpunch a bit as well but has more success being aggressive. A switch-hitter, Crawfords best punch in my opinion is his straight left out of the southpaw stance. Doesnt really throw a ton of combinations but tends to work consistently and mixes up his punches well to the head and body. He has good size, stamina, power, and physical strength for the weight class. Defensively, Crawford is fundamentally good with a combination of blocking, slipping punches with a quasi-shoulder roll style, and getting out of range with good angles and movement. Havent really seen him caught flush very often, so his chin is a question mark. Crawford has a sizable size advantage on Gamboa and Gamboa has a sizable speed advantage on Crawford. However, Crawford also possesses decent timing, so I think he will struggle a bit early with the speed of Gamboa, but will find his range around the middle rounds and start to take over the fight, winning by a clear decision.
Posted on: Wed, 25 Jun 2014 01:21:07 +0000
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