Youriokis Gamboa is their anyone better?

I've been watching a lot of Gamboa lately and the more I watch him the more impressed I am. He looks like he has the lot. Great hand and foot speed, great footwork, nice defencive skills, the ability to stay in range and roll punches, superb reflexes, very accurate puncher and a fair old whack to back it all up. His chin was tested against Salido he wasn't caught that often but when he was he took them well and never panicked.

Do any of you guys think their is anyone more well rounded and gifted than Gamboa around at the moment?

In terms of being well rounded I'd put Sergio Martinez ahead of him, but you're right he's a quality fighter who seems to have the lot. Hope to seem him in a world class match-up at 126lb soon, no reason why he still can't fight juanma, or there's John maybe Cabellero. Exciting times for Gamboa just hope he can stay away from trouble outside the ring.

As much as I like Martinez I don't think he has the hand speed, punch accuracy or power that Gamboa has.

Gomboa is absolute class and I doubt there is anyone at all at 126 lb - or 130 lb, for that matter - who could live with him right now. I'd still say that Marquez, Martinez and, the best of the lot, Hopkins are more technically rounded fighters than him, but Gamboa has the equalizer of genuine knockout power and blurring hand speed.

His short punching is absolutely superb; I've seen some casting him as a slam-bang brawler, but he isn't. He actually wastes very little, has fantastic in and out speed and, while he could do with tightening up just a touch, his defence is not far away from being the finished article. At first he just seemed to be using his reflexes to avoid shots, but recently he's added a higher guard and, at times, a Mayweather-esque shoulder roll to his arsenal.

I still think the fight with Lopez should happen, and that it would be a cracker if it did - but Gamboa comes out on top for me. There's plenty of talent at 126 lb for now and, in eighteen months, I can only see one name sitting at the top of the pound for pound tree; Yuriorkis Gamboa. I really do rate him that highly, absolute class as I said before.

prettyboykev wrote:As much as I like Martinez I don't think he has the hand speed, punch accuracy or power that Gamboa has.

Not punch power perhaps, although he does have a dig on him, but handspeed and accuracy are close. He's good defensively, has a solid jab and slick southpaw skills, knows how to go to war. For me he's the best all rounder at the moment and has been fighting at a higher level than gamboa where it's not as easy to look good. Nothing against gamboa, but Sergio is top man IMO.

What about Chris John? He's ranked as 3rd on BoxRec and has even beaten Marquez, and is unbeaten in 45 fights!

I can't believe I haven't seen him fight though. He's one that slipped under the radar.

Irrational wrote:What about Chris John? He's ranked as 3rd on BoxRec and has even beaten Marquez, and is unbeaten in 45 fights!

I can't believe I haven't seen him fight though. He's one that slipped under the radar.

Chris John is a bit of an enigma; superb record on paper but the fact that he's hidden himself away over in the Orient for so long, and also not pushed on after the Marquez win, means that he's slipped under a lot people's radars. But I think Gamboa is too good for him, to be honest. I rate John higher than most but I don't think he has anything like the physical presence needed to discourage the Cuban from his almost constant attacking, and if he holds the centre of the ring against him it's bad news for John. His superb chin might keep him in there until the final bell, but he's going to take a sustained beating for my money.

Chris John has fought mainly in Asia he looks good but need to fight some better names before thinking about Gamboa. I would have Gamboa beating John inside 6 rounds from what I've seen though.

Irrational wrote:What about Chris John? He's ranked as 3rd on BoxRec and has even beaten Marquez, and is unbeaten in 45 fights!

I can't believe I haven't seen him fight though. He's one that slipped under the radar.

Johns win over Marquez was a close fight and some say he got the nod as it was in Indonesia. He is a quality operator, but his last meaningful fight was a brilliant war with Rocky Juarez on the undercard of Marquez Diaz 1 (I think). He has superstar status in Indonesia but his desire to transcend that to world level is questionable. There are big fights available for John, I'm a fan of his and hopes he steps up to take them before he passes his sell by date. If youve not seen him fight I'd reccommend you YouTube either of his two fights with Juarez for a good 45 mins entertainment.

Sugar Boy Sweetie wrote:

Irrational wrote:What about Chris John? He's ranked as 3rd on BoxRec and has even beaten Marquez, and is unbeaten in 45 fights!

I can't believe I haven't seen him fight though. He's one that slipped under the radar.

Johns win over Marquez was a close fight and some say he got the nod as it was in Indonesia. He is a quality operator, but his last meaningful fight was a brilliant war with Rocky Juarez on the undercard of Marquez Diaz 1 (I think). He has superstar status in Indonesia but his desire to transcend that to world level is questionable. There are big fights available for John, I'm a fan of his and hopes he steps up to take them before he passes his sell by date. If youve not seen him fight I'd reccommend you YouTube either of his two fights with Juarez for a good 45 mins entertainment.

Thanks, will give them a watch.

Sugar Boy Sweetie wrote:

prettyboykev wrote:As much as I like Martinez I don't think he has the hand speed, punch accuracy or power that Gamboa has.

Not punch power perhaps, although he does have a dig on him, but handspeed and accuracy are close. He's good defensively, has a solid jab and slick southpaw skills, knows how to go to war. For me he's the best all rounder at the moment and has been fighting at a higher level than gamboa where it's not as easy to look good. Nothing against gamboa, but Sergio is top man IMO.

Sergio undoubtedly is a great fighter and has no doubt proved himself at a higher level. That doesn't make him more well rounded or talented though. Martinez might have a more solid defence but I don't see anything else he does better than Gamboa.

Gamboa is still improving and developing his style despite being 28 he has only been a pro for 4 years. His amateur credentials are awesome and only bettered by his fellow Cuban Rigondeaux. Future P4P#1 imo.

Bar Mayweather. No. Mayweather doesn't have the power at welter or above but he did at the lower weights.

I discounted Mayweather from the start I regard him as retired.

I would say Nonito Donaire. Great skill set, KO power, speed, great footwork and a top personality to boot. I would hold them pretty much in the same regard. I reckon Donaire could be something really special.

Discounting Mayweather then no, Sergio is close but he hasn't got blinding speed of gamboa. Not seen much of Donaire so can't comment on that.

I would love to see Donaire step up to super bantamweight and fight Rigondeaux. That would be great to see. Rigondeaux like Gamboa looks to have it all, his body punches are something else.

Pound for pound it has to be Martinez for me

prettyboykev wrote:I would love to see Donaire step up to super bantamweight and fight Rigondeaux. That would be great to see. Rigondeaux like Gamboa looks to have it all, his body punches are something else.

I read earlier that Donaire is on the verge of signing up at the Wildcard gym. He said he wants to unify the Bantams before moving up and taking some superfights.

@kev
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Martinez has proved himself and been tested mate, Gamboa needs a world class challenge has Martinez has had on more than 2 occasions!

For me Donaire beats Agbeko and Moreno/Kameda or who ever else the WBA is going to give a belt to.

I can see Rigondeaux cleaning up at super bantam tbh Arce, Ndlovu, Shimoda and Nishioka aren't good enough to beat him.

Steven_89 wrote:@kev
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Martinez has proved himself and been tested mate, Gamboa needs a world class challenge has Martinez has had on more than 2 occasions!

I'm not arguing with that I like Martinez I just don't think he has as much about him as Gamboa. I would place Martinez #2 on my p4p list just now I just think Gamboa is the most talented around. Gamboa did beat Solis who is highly rated and sparked out the highly rated (by some) Lopez.

I think Nishioka will pick Rigondeaux off kev, Munroe is 5 times the fighter Casey will ever be and he didn't deserve a world title shot, so again i think he needs a test. Nishioka was quality against Munroe, who i think should fight Ndlovu, easy fight for Munroe that!

Rigondeaux would destroy Munroe. Nishioka is good but I think Rigondeaux is a class above the rest at his weight similar to Donaire. Rigondeaux doesn't do much wrong and does an awful lot better than most.

I think that he can be p4p #1 but needs harder fights. Atm, there seems to be alot of fighters at bantam, but they don't seem like moving up anytime soon. Gamboa also has limited options at FW as far as superfights go. Bar John, salido, JML and Garcia there seem very few good fights out there. JML would have been the making of him before he got found out. That fight, although large, has lost alot of public interest after the salido fight. Gamboa-John would be big as they are the top 2 in the division and John holds a win over JMM, but John is relatively unknown outside of Asia. Rigondeux could be the big one for gamboa. Both Cuban, both unbeaten and both supreme amateurs. Rigondeux has developed quite a fanbase and isn't even a champion.

Donaire-Gamboa will be another huge fight, if they meet as gamboa wants to move up aswell. They are two of the most talented fighters out there and its a real 50/50 fight. It willbe huge if it happens which I hope it does.

Gamboa wants to move up, he could easily cruise the SFW division. However, if he decided to move up to lightweight I can see him being stopped. He will be very small at LW and although I think he could easily carry his skills up, I'm not sure he can cope with LWs like rios, Guerrero as gamboa hasn't got the best chin

Not sure his chin would be a problem. I think he would box Rios's ears off, Guerrero would be tougher he is a bit more skilled than Rios. Guerrero is very big for a LW. Gamboa is 5ft 6inches tall. That isn't that small I think he would look massive at LW.

Rigondeaux would destroy Munroe. Nishioka is good but I think Rigondeaux is a class above the rest at his weight similar to Donaire. Rigondeaux doesn't do much wrong and does an awful lot better than most.
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Rigondeaux wouldn't stop Munroe, iron chin, supremely fit and very strong, it would be on points. Would be a guaranteed test though because Munroe would throw punches unlike Casey and always fights.

I don't think it would be Munroes chin that would be the problem. Rigondeaux throws crippling body shots and has lightning quick hands. I'm not a big Munroe fan he is brave but lacks real quality in any department imo. Casey was well out of his depths against Rigondeaux have you seen the guys amateur pedigree. Casey would be lucky to be a good enough sparring partner for the Cuban.

i think Munroe's world class, if you batter everyone at European level then fight the #1 rated super bantam in Nishioka in Japan and trouble him at times and compete your world class. Munroe will batter Ndlovu, he put on facebook the other day their trying to make that fight.

Munroe was well and truly dominated by Nishioka, had a few seconds here and there in the fight but nothing to suggest he belongs at world level, was an achievement he saw the final bell it was that one sided