ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP)—Yuriorkis Gamboa stopped Jorge Solis in the
fourth round Saturday night to defend his WBA and IBF featherweight titles.
Gamboa (20-0, 16 KOs) delivered a sensational performance before a sellout
crowd of 2,913 at Boardwalk Hall’s Adrian Phillips Ballroom.
The Cuban defector who now lives in Miami knocked down Solis five times,
twice in the fourth.
Solis, from Guadalajara, Mexico, hit the canvas early in the fourth from a
straight right. He got up, but Gamboa pinned him in a corner and pummeled him
with punches until referee David Fields stepped in to halt the bout at 1:31 of
the round.
“It was a very good fight,” Gamboa said through an interpreter. “I am
completely different from (earlier in his career). The package is complete.”
He dropped Solis twice in the second round behind a left hook and overhand
right, respectively, then flattened him with a left hook to the jaw just before
the bell to end the third round.
Solis, from Guadalajara, Mexico, dropped to 40-3-1.
“I’ll fight anyone now,” Gamboa said.
Most boxing fans are clamoring for Gamboa to take on WBO champion Juan
Manuel Lopez, who was in attendance at ringside and joined Gamboa in the ring
afterward.
Chris John is also a possibility.
“I’ve never said no and he’s never said no,” Lopez said through an
interpreter. “We have to negotiate it. We’re the best in the division. We have
to do it.”
The 29-year-old Gamboa, 29, was making the fifth defense of the WBA title he
earned in 2009, just two years after defecting from his native Cuba and making
his pro debut.
He won an Olympic gold medal for Cuba in the 2004 Summer Games in Athens,
but said he sold the medal a few months later for $1,500 to pay for a first
birthday party for his daughter, Brenda, who is now six.
That was also about the time he realized he needed to leave Cuba.
In 2006, while training for the Pan American Games with the Cuban national
team in Venezuela, Gamboa and two other 2004 gold medalists—Odlanier Solis and
Yan Barthelemy—defected.
With the help of manager Tony Gonzalez, they first made their way to
Colombia before ultimately settling in Miami.
If a Gamboa-Lopez or Gamboa-John fight cannot be made, he may wind up taking
on top contender Mikey Garcia (25-0, 21 KOs).
Garcia, from Oxnard, Calif., proved himself to be a legitimate challenger
with an 10th-round TKO over Matt Remillard (23-1, 13 KOs), of Manchester, Conn.
Garcia scored three total knockdowns in the ninth and 10th, prompting
Remillard’s corner to stop it.
“I’m ready for either (Gamboa or Lopez),” Garcia said.
Garcia prevailed despite getting sick before the fight. He said he ate some
pizza on the Atlantic City Boardwalk earlier in the day and developed a serious
stomachache.
He considered quitting after the second round, but his brother/trainer,
Robert Garcia, convinced him to continue.
Philadelphia junior-featherweight contender Teon Kennedy (17-0-1) registered
two knockdowns en route to a 12-round unanimous decision over New Brunswick,
N.J., prospect Jorge Diaz (15-1).
Baltimore Ravens safety Tommy Zbikowski (3-0, 2 KOs) went the distance for
the first time in his brief boxing career in gaining a hard-fought, four-round
unanimous decision over Caleb Grummet (0-1-1), of Lake Odessa, Mich.
Taken from:
Gamboa KOs Solis in 4th round (AP)