Former featherweight titlist Yuriorkis Gamboa has been named as a client of a Miami-based clinic that has prescribed performance enhancing drugs to a group of high-profile professional athletes for the past several years.
According to the Miami New Times, the anti-aging clinic Biogenesis dealt human growth hormones (HGH), anabolic steroids and testosterone before it closed last month. Gamboa allegedly became a client based on the handwritten notebook of Biogenesis founder Anthony Bosch, who prescribed a regimen for the boxer that included HGH and a testosterone cream.
In addition, the Bosch’s notes recommended that Gamboa cycle off performance enhancing drugs preceding his canceled April 2012 fight with Brandon Rios, advising Gamboa to “start clean-up Dec.1.”
Gamboa is the only boxer named in the investigation along with a list that inclues prominent baseball stars such as Alex Rodriguez, Melky Cabrera and Nelson Cruz.
The developing story has already been dubbed the “East Coast Balco” in memory of the West Coast clinic that exposed the steroid use of athletes such as Marion Jones and Shane Mosley nearly a decade ago.
At press time, Gamboa nor his representatives could be reached for comment.
*******************************
“Innocent until proven guilty” is still the motto we should all adhere to, but I’m positive no one is surprised no matter when you stand on this issue. When you consider that the steroid tests for boxing really didn’t become a serious topic until early 2010 when the first Mayweather-Pacquiao negotiations collapsed, the idea that Gamboa, who scored devastating KOs in all his 2009 fights, has a monster physique and a freakish combination of speed and power, might have been on something is not that big of a stretch.
We’ll see where this goes in the coming weeks. Unless Gamboa is forced to testify in front of a grand jury, I doubt he’ll divulge many details.
Seth Mitchell will waste no time with tuneups and head right back in the ring with the man who gave him his first defeat, Johnathon Banks, on a HBO card scheduled for February 16.
In a statement to boxingscene.com, Golden Boy matchmaker Eric Gomez said Mitchell was intent on making the rematch in early 2013.
Mitchell suffered a devastating defeat on HBO to Banks on November 17 when he was knocked down three times in second round in route to a TKO stoppage. Mitchell had been showcased prominently on HBO over the last several months and was being mentioned as a possible opponent for the Klitschkos in 2013. Banks, who was mentored by the late Emanuel Steward, took over training duties for Steward fighter Wladimir Klitschko last month.
The rematch will be shown at the undercard of Adrien Broner’s first lightweight title defense since lifting the WBC title off Antonio DeMarco.
**********************************************
I really like this move from Team Mitchell. Why waste time with useless tuneups? He got the biggest lesson he could ever have with the Banks, which exploited Mitchell’s tendencies to lean in while punching and dropping his hands. Both guys have shown they can hurt each other (Mitchell’s right had Banks holding in the first and he landed a hard body shot before walking into that Banks counter). It’s a dangerous fight, but at 30 years old Mitchell needs to go for it and find out where his ceiling is in the heavyweight division. Like the first, the likelihood of this one seeing the final bell is minimal.
And will 50 Cent pull trigger early and have Yuriorkis Gamboa face Broner in the main event? Gamboa has already declined considering a fight against former rival Juan Manuel Lopez. I doubt it comes off this soon, but what a nice card this would be if both these fights were to come off.
It’s a two full days later and I, like many boxing fans and writers, am still on cloud 9 after witnessing Juan Manuel Marquez’s long-awaited victory over Manny Pacquaio Saturday night at the MGM Grand. The sold-out crowd had to endure an abysmal undercard but got quite the show in the main event. While the complete aftermath of this KO will play itself out in the coming months, the below points are what I observed from press row and during the post-fight press conference.
We All Wanted the “Old Manny” Back…And So Did the “New” Marquez: We’ve all be harping on the fact Pacquiao has looked uninspired in the ring for years. His trainer Freddie Roach has attributed it to out of ring distractions (infidelity, political career etc.) and his faith in God dulling his killer instinct. But for the last few weeks, all we’ve heard from Roach is that Manny had reverted back to the merciless whirlwind fighter we witnessed at the lower weights. And it wasn’t just Roach — word had gone through the press and was verified on the last 24/7 that Pacquiao was abusing his sparring partners.
Well, the old Manny with his reckless abandon showed up Saturday night, and it was that recklessness that left him out cold on the canvas. In the earlier Marquez fights at lower weights, he was able to get away with it because although Juan repeatedly tagged him, the future Mexican Hall of Famer didn’t have the power to put his lights out. The welterweight tank we saw in the ring last weekend definitely did.
Round Three Changed Everything: That Marquez right landed with a pronounced thud only eclipsed by the sound of Pacquiao’s body hitting the canvas. Pacquiao was obviously buzzed, but Marquez did the right thing by not rushing in for the finish. He bided his time and continued setting traps and remaining composed despite a broken nose. After having a great round five, you could feel Pacquiao’s confidence building (and perhaps mixed with a little desperation) in wanting to finish the fight with a KO. That lead directly to that beautiful counterpunch KO in the sixth.
Bob Arum Feels Redeemed: In the post-fight press conference, Arum took a few shots at internet writers claiming the excitement of the main event showed they were wrong in claiming this fight should not have happened. He lauded the obvious KO of the Year from Marquez, the previous knockdowns, and the drama of the entire six rounds. Once again, Arum misses the point. No one ever questioned whether it would be a good fight — history had already shown that Pacquiao and Marquez are evently matched and put on good fights. The question was is it the best fight that could be made and the answer was and still is a resounding no. There will be more than enough blame to go around, but history will give Arum a considerable amount of blame for his role in Mayweather-Pacquiao never happening.
Speaking of Mayweather-Pacquiao…: You probably stopped caring over a year ago, and the result of Pacquiao-Marquez 4 is even more reason to not give this “past its sell date superfight” a second thought. What could have been a historic fight that should have taken place in early 2010 is now essentially meaningless.
What’s Next for Pacquiao and Marquez?: Brandon Rios was milling about during Fight Week and it’s no secret he next in line for Pacquiao if the Filipino icon had won. I see no reason why Marquez can’t slide into that slot because that’s a guaranteed Fight of Year battle. It would be similar to Marquez’s first fight againt Juan Diaz (the 2009 Fight of the Year) in regards to Rios’s pressure and inside fighting. The difference is Rios hits a lot harder, is much bigger and more durable than Diaz.
If that doesn’t come off, Arum of course did not rule out a fifth fight (!) with Marquez. We’ll see how the pay-per-view numbers hold up for this one, but it’d be a very hard sell considering the fourth fight’s conclusive outcome. And being that Pacquiao had to skip the post-fight press conference and head straight to the hospital for a CAT scan (which was negative), I can’t see his team really pressing to jump back in there with Marquez.
It wouldn’t surprise me to see Pacquiao take a soft touch and await the winner of Marquez-Rios, if for no other reason then to not end his career on a devastating knockout defeat.
Keep Gamboa Far Away from Broner: Yuriorkis Gamboa returned to the ring after a 15-month absence to score unanimous decision win over a solid Michael Farenas, who buzzed Gamboa several times with hard right hands and even scored a knockdown in the ninth. Gamboa had the rust you’d expect from a long layoff. His power was there and got him two knockdowns of his own, but Gamboa’s glaring defensive holes (hands down, pulling straight back, wide punches inside) were on full display. His promoter 50 Cent name-checked Adrien Broner as a target opponent but that is just lip service at this point. 50 is not blind and knows Gamboa is not ready for Broner at this point (and he’ll probably never be ready). Get Gamboa a few more tuneups and then see where he stands. Put them in the ring together now and Broner KOs him.
Undercard Nyquil: Not sure how it translated at home, but this was one of the worst pay-par-view undercards I’ve ever attended. Fortuna-Hyland was an extended bad sparring session for most rounds due listlessness on Hyland’s part, and Mercito Gesta was completely exposed as a one-dimensional slugger by Miguel Vazquez. Both fights lacked any sustained action and went 12 rounds. Before the Gamboa fight I was ready to claw my eyes out.
Mexicans Were Hype All Night: The crowd was overwhelmingly Mexican and they produced one final funny moment I’d like to share. There was a couple hundred fans camped out by the press area hoping to get a glimpse of any celebrities or fighters leaving. Well, when I left a got a huge Bob Marley chant. You gotta love it. LOL
LAS VEGAS, MGM GRAND — Juan Manuel Marquez put a vicious and thrilling end to his rivalry with Manny Pacquiao with a shocking sixth round, one-punch knockout.
Marquez scored with several left hooks to the body in the opening two rounds but struggled to deal with Pacquiao’s head movement and feints. Pacquiao snapped back Marquez’s head in the second with a left and started to become aggressive with combinations. Marquez would bring Pacquiao’s momentum to a grinding halt in the third with a perfect overhand counter right that deposited Pacquaio flat on his back with over a minute to go. Although Marquez would land another hard right and a left uppercut, he remained wary of Pacquiao’s power, allowing Pacquiao to make it out the round.
The caution continued for both fighters early in the fourth, but it was Pacquiao who was more active despite being caught with another Marquez right. Pacquiao would have his best round in the fifth when he scored a gloved-down knockdown off a counter straight left. Marquez tried to rally but was stung badly by another left hand. Pacquiao unloaded a series on hooks on the ropes, placing Marquez in a precarious position as he refused to hold. At the end of the round, blood gushed from Marquez’s broken nose and swelling was visible above his left eye.
Pacquiao continued finding success in the sixth with straight lefts as Marquez focused on timing another opening for his right hand. Marquez would score with a left uppercut but was on the defensive for most of the round. Pacquiao rushed in for another left to close the bell and ran right into a another right hand, this time putting Pacquiao face-first on the canvas. Referee Kenny Bayless started a brief count before calling the fight off.
At the time of the stoppage, Pacquiao was ahead on all scorecards 48-45.
Yuriorkis Gamboa returned from a 15 month layoff to win a unanimous decision over Michael Farenas despite suffering a knockdown in the ninth. Gamboa scored two knockdowns of his own and was the more active fighter, wining by scores of 117-109, 118-108 an 117-108.
Miguel Angel Vazquez retained his IBF lightweight title with a 12-round, lopsided decision over previously undefeated prospect Mercito Gesta. Using his six-inch reach advantage (75″ to 68) and movement, Vazquez worked off the backfoot and completely neutralized any offense from Gesta. Vazquez landed several hard right crosses and body shots, but for the most part stayed on the move and easily avoided Gesta’s telegraphed left hooks. The final scorecards read 117-111, 118-110 and 119-109.
In the pay-per-view opener, Javier Fortuna took a dull 12-round decision win over Patrick Hyland. Fortuna fought in spots, landing shoeshine hooks on the inside and then spending the majority of the rounds fighting off the backfoot. Hyland had a few good rounds late, particularly the 10th, where he landed good hooks to the body and head. However, Hyland couldn’t get any consistent offense going and was outworked in most rounds. Fortuna captured the WBA interim featherweight title via scores of 118-110, 116-112 and 115-113.
Check back here later for more info on the big news and fallout from tonight’s card.
When something gets repeated often enough, people will start to believe it. For the past year, Adrien Broner has been telling anyone who’ll listen that he’s destined to become a boxing superstar on the level of Muhammad Ali. While he’s convinced himself, the response from boxing fans has been much more tepid. Tomorrow night on HBO’s “World Championship Boxing” main event, Broner can go a long way to changing that when he faces a significant threat in WBC lightweight titlist Antonio DeMarco. A tall, aggressive southpaw with power who needed less than a minute in his last outing to vanquish John Molina, DeMarco has all the tools to derail Broner’s superstar aspirations. But let Broner tell it, DeMarco is just a pit stop on his goal to surpassing his idol Floyd Mayweather. Should we see a dominant performance Saturday night, you may just start believing him too.
Beats, Boxing & Mayhem: On paper, Antonio DeMarco is expected to be your toughest challenge. What do you consider his best attribute?
Broner: His best strength is his heart. DeMarco has the heart of a champion. There comes times where you’ll have to dog it out or make the fight easy. I’m ready for whatever. We won’t know until the bell rings, but I’ll make the adjustments as needed to get the victory. If it’s a guy who may pose problems I’m going to box. If I see I can walk him down, I’m gonna walk him down. You don’t fight everybody the same. We know we’re very in shape and ready for anything.
Beats, Boxing & Mayhem: You seem to prefer the high guard and walking down fighters. Is that strategy conducive to DeMarco’s style?
Broner: A lot of people don’t know. When I first seen Floyd Mayweather, I was 12. From watching him do it I said let me try it. Once you try something the first time you’re not gonna get it. Now at 23, 11 years down the road, it really helps me out; I really don’t get hit (laughs). It took me a long time to perfect and there’s still some things I see when I watch Floyd that I still have to work on. It’s a work in progress.
Beats, Boxing & Mayhem: Earlier this month you and 50 Cent got into it on Twitter with you offering to face both Yuriorkis Gamboa and Billy Dib. Are those still options should you get by DeMarco?
Broner: I’m really not worried about the Gamboa fight. I don’t need him to be a superstar. Without him, the fans are still going to want to see Adrien Broner no matter who I fight. It would be a big fight, a super fight we can make down the line. I want to see Gamboa get his career back going. We haven’t seen him fight in a long time and he’s an exceptional talent in boxing. He has some nice amateur credentials [too], but at the end of the day I’m “The Problem” and will stay undefeated no matter who they put on the other side of that ring.
Beats, Boxing & Mayhem: You had to deal with a lot of problems while still trying to get your career off the ground in 2008. Some of those legal issues took years to resolve. How did you stay focused on boxing with them hanging over your head and no big company backing at the time? (Writer’s Note: According to Cinncinatti court records,Broner was arrested and charged with multiple crimes from 2007-2008, such as intimidation of a crime witness, carrying a concealed weapon, aggravated robbery and felonious assault. He was acquitted of all charges.)
Broner: I just stayed focused man and left it up to the man upstairs. He definitely helped me and now I’m a world champion going for another title in another weight class.
Beats, Boxing & Mayhem: We know how Floyd went about pushing his name to next level with the “Money” persona. Define your persona and why you’re so confident it’ll be just as big.
Broner: I think it will come. The things I do with the antics is just me being me. Everybody around the world will love me just like do [Muhammad] Ali. You have some who dislike him but for the most part the whole world had to see Ali. That’s what I’m looking forward to.
Beats, Boxing & Mayhem: You talk a lot about becoming a superstar but in order for that to happen, you need that big rival or signature win. Who in the immediate landscape can give you that push to the next level?
Broner: The superstar opponent will come with me just being me and putting on great performances. I would like a big fight with Juan Manuel Marquez before he’s done. That would be a hell of a fight. It’s a lot of names out there but we’ll take it slow and one fight at a time. Right now DeMarco is on my mind and I’m gonna get this fight out the way.
Beats, Boxing & Mayhem: A lot of people soured on you for not making weight against Escobedo. Looking back on it, how you feel about everything that went down?
Broner: I’m never gonna get a fair shake. They’re gonna always find a way to put some type of criticism in the situation. I just do me. As long as I’m victorious, looking, leaving the ring not beat up with my million dollar smile, I’m ok with that. I’m the Meek Mill of and LeBron James of boxing. I’m a young phenom and star. It’s just gonna get bigger from here and I’m ready for it.
Beats, Boxing & Mayhem: At this stage, are we done with the hair bush routines?
Broner: [Chuckles] The brush ain’t retired; he’s just trying to slow up right now.
Adrien Broner vs. Antonio DeMarco for the WBC light title airs Saturday (November 17) night at 10 p.m. ET on HBO’s “World Championship Boxing,” live from Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The co-main event is Seth Mitchell facing Johnathon Banks for the NABO heavyweight title.
50 Cent and Floyd Mayweather’s upstart TMT (The Money Team) Promotions added more firepower to their brand with the announcement of three new signings in Andre Berto, Zab Judah and Celestino Caballero.
The news was first announced earlier this morning by FightHype.com, which coincided with meeting pictures released on Twitter late last night.
Berto and Judah were most recently promoted by Lou DiBella and Main Events, respectively. The new signings increase the TMT roster to seven including Billy Dib, Yuriorkis Gamboa, Andre Dirrell and allegedly Floyd Mayweather, who is rumored to seek another fight in November upon being released from prison this weekend.
These moves should dispel any remaining doubters about the seriousness of this venture. This is quite the collection of names for a promotion that’s barely two weeks old.
If Mayweather does indeed try to get in a fight before the end of 2012, we may end up seeing one of the most stacked pay-per-view cards in years. Can you imagine the likes of Gamboa, Judah and Dirrell filling out an undercard? 50 Cent boldly proclaimed he wanted to make a card of several main event worthy fights. With these moves we have no further reason to doubt the man.
The Twitter “beef” with Oscar De La Hoya aside, TMT is off to a great start.
Yuriorkis Gamboa again was a no-show yesterday at the Los Angeles press conference for his proposed April 14fight with Brandon Rios. Gamboa, like Kelly Pavlik last year in his dispute with Top Rank, claims that he never signed a contract and wouldn’t move forward with the fight until Top Rank met his financial requirements. Top Rank hasn’t denied the lack of a written contract, but president Todd duBoef states in both below videos that a verbal agreement from Gamboa’s camp was in place before they moved forward with the promotion. Rios was much more subdued than the last presser, but still views Gamboa as a coward.
The talk of the boxing world over the last 24 hours has been the Miami press conference no-show and possible Top Rank defection of featherweight champion Yuriorkis Gamboa. Top Rank has uploaded the below footage of the no-show press conference where Rios goes into a trademark profanity-laced tirade about Gamboa being a coward. The second video is bonus footage for the press conference which features Rios getting into a scuffle with Richard Abril, a fighter rumored to be Gamboa’s replacement for the April 14 date.
At press time, there’s still been no statement from Gamboa. In addition, no one from Floyd Mayweather’s camp has verified the big rumor about them having a hand in Gamboa apparently trying to leave Top Rank.
Yuriorkis Gamboa’s (21-0, 16 KOs) relied on his hand speed to pot shot and occasionally rip a game Daniel Ponce de Leon (41-4, 34 KOs) with combinations in route to an eighth round technical decision.
After a cautious first round from both which saw Ponce de Leon hold a slight advantage on activity, Gamboa took control in the second. The Cuban champion tested Ponce de Leon’s chin with blinding combinations, to which all the challenger could was cover. Ponce de Leon was not discouraged; he stopped Gamboa from overwhelming him wih well-timed overhand lefts.
Showing respect for Ponce de Leon’s power, Gamboa now focused his offense on potshot right hands and in and out flurries. Gamboa outpointed Ponce de Leon behind these tactics in rounds three and four, but was still sparingly caught with solid left hooks. Going into the fifth, Gamboa’s corner implored him to focus his offense at ring center when the much slower Ponce De Leon would be at a significant disadvantage trying to time Gamboa’s speed.
“When you’re in the middle of the ring you’re dominate,” his trainer said.
Gamboa elicited “ohhs” and “ahhs” from the crowd courtesy of several flush right hand counters in rounds five and six. Still, Ponce de Leon’s face retained a determined look as he continued stalking after Gamboa, who was now mocking his opponent by gingerly walking away with his hands down after landing a good shot.
After taking round seven behind some jarring left hook counters, Gamboa rushed in and clashed heads with Ponce de Leon, who suffered a deep, dripping cut above his left eye. The ringside doctor viewed the wound for several minutes before deciding to call off the bout, giving Yuriorkis Gamboa the technical decision by scores of 70-63 twice and 69-64. When asked about his inability to serious hurt Ponce de Leon, Gamboa claimed he was carrying his opponent to the later rounds.
“My purpose was to extend the fight beyond four rounds,” Gamboa told HBO analyst Max Kellerman. “Everyone said he’d knock me out if it went longer… I want to go for Manny Pacquiao because there’s no challenges at my weight.”
At the post-fight press conference, Yuriorkis Gamboa stated last night’s bout would be his final fight at featherweight.
In a hopeful sign for future goodwill, Golden Boy Promotions will assist Top Rank in promoting Yuriorkis Gamboa’s WBA featherweight title defense against former WBO titlist Daniel Ponce De Leon on September 10.
Due to rival Juan Manuel Lopez’s shocking upset defeat to Orlando Salido in April, Gamboa is now viewed by most as the featherweight division’s top fighter. In March, he scored an impressive, fourth round TKO blowout of contender Jorge Solis. Also in March, Ponce De Leon had his seven fight win streak snapped when Adrien Broner edged him in a close unanimous decision. The matchup will be Gamboa’s sixth title defense, and his third consecutive former champion, whose combined records before facing him was 115-15-4, with 89 KOs.
“I look forward to meeting Ponce de Leon. This will be the third straight world champion, or former world champion I have faced from México,” said Gamboa, who is undefeated in 20 fights. “I know that México has a great history of world champions, but so does Cuba. I welcome this chance I am getting to continue to prove I am one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world. I will not disappoint my fans.”
Although an immense underdog, Ponce De Leon is confident his punching power and Gamboa’s well-documented spotty defense will give him openings for a knockout. Gamboa has been knocked down four times due to balance issues and the tendency of keeping his hands low.
“Gamboa is a good fighter and I know this is going to be a difficult fight,” Ponce De Leon admitted. “But I know this is a fight that I can win and I’m going to train hard in Los Angeles to leave the ring with my hand raised in victory. I will not leave any excuses for after the fight.”
Gamboa vs. Ponce De Leon will be a HBO Championship boxing event, airing live from Atlantic City’s Boardwalk Hall.
