On June 28th, Omaha, Nebraska’s Century Link Center will host a WBO Lightweight Title bout between undefeated fighters Yuriorkis Gamboa and Terence Crawford. Crawford, who is fighting in his hometown, is the favorite (-225) over the Cuban Gamboa, who returns (+175).
For Crawford, it is the first defense of the title he won in March by defeating Ricky Burns, who had held the belt since 2011. Crawford is 23-0 as a pro and has a decorated amateur career that saw him defeat several fighters that have gone on to be top professionals, including Diego Magdaleno, Mickey Garcia and Danny Garcia. Crawford is aware that his amateur career gets criticized because it comes at a down time for USA boxing overall, and he uses it as motivation.
And having a solid amateur background is not going to scare a guy like Yuriorkis Gamboa. Gamboa won an Olympic Gold medal representing Cuba, and on the island he had 250 amateur fights in what is perhaps the most advanced amateur boxing program in the world. Gamboa is also 23-0 at this point as a professional, and it can be argued that his competition level since 2010 has been higher than that faced by Crawford.
Crawford is a great boxing story, a kid who grew up on the mean streets of Omaha and found a better way of life through sports. He uses it as motivation to be the best he can be and he wants to keep improving, and he has certainly heard the talk and hype behind Gamboa. For a guy like Crawford, it is motivational.
Gamboa, if he can stay out of trouble with the law, is one of the best pound for pound boxers in the world today. And Gamboa is a Cuban defector who has seen true poverty on the island and gone through defection and starting over in a new language, literally beginning from scratch.
It would seem Gamboa has the edge with a lot of the intangibles, and that he would own the edge for the fight just based solely on boxing skill. Gamboa may be worth a look as the underdog in this bout, especially if the line widens and more money comes in on Crawford.
