Jose Rojas-Yuri Gamboa (right)
TOP RANK SUES CUBAN STAR FOR BREACH OF CONTRACT
Los Angeles, CA– April 14, 2012 was expected to be a big day for HBO as Yuriorkis Gamboa (21-0, 16 KOS), the 2004 Olympic Gold Medalist from Cuba, and the former IBF and WBA featherweight (126 lb.) champion was supposed to move up two weight classes and face former WBA lightweight (135) king Brandon Rios (29-0-1, 22 KOS). This battle of two unbeaten fighters, both contractual members of the Top Rank stable at the time of the fight being allegedly agreed upon February 16th, were originally slated for a doubleheader earlier in the year in bouts against other opponents. However when the promoter failed to find suitable foes for each, Gamboa expressed the interest to do the unthinkable; jumping the 130 lb. division to face Rios for the vacant WBA belt that Rios lost at the scales when he weighed 136 in his last bout, a TKO 11 last December 11 over John Murray (31-2, 18 KOs) .
DID GAMBOA BACK HIMSELF INTO A CORNER?
According to Top Rank, Gamboa had agreed to all said terms of the bout, and it was a go. Two press conferences were scheduled, yet in the first one which took place in the Cuban’s adopted home of Miami, FL, he was a no show. At the time of the press conference he was said to be in of all places, training in Floyd Mayweather’s Las Vegas gym.
He also failed to appear for the following press get together in Los Angeles, which took place a few days later. This has led to speculation as to whether Gamboa would go through with the bout and if he was going to honor his verbal agreement for the fight (it is reported that the bout had yet to be officially signed).
MY TAKE ON THE SITUATION AT HAND
First of all it is clear what Gamboa did appears to be unprofessional. However most of the reports are coming from the Top Rank side, the ones who are issuing a lawsuit reportedly outlining around $1,000,000 in damages. One thing that must be taken into consideration is that originally the card was to have taken place earlier in the year with both combatants facing different foes. Rios, living in Oxnard, Ca, failed to make weight in his previous bout, and likely would have to struggle to make 135. It’s highly likely that Rios, not wanting to drain himself would probably not force the issue and rather pay the fine (a percentage of his purse) than damage himself by depleting himself to make weight. Gamboa, while allegedly was supposed to get the lions share of the purse, may have felt he was mistreated by his promoter.
TOP RANK LET THE JUAN MANUEL LOPEZ FIGHT GET AWAY
For the last two years Gamboa had been calling out the other top featherweight at the time, also a Top Rank client, Puerto Rico’s now not so sensational Juan Manuel Lopez (31-2, 28 KOs). Reluctant to put their prized attraction in with Gamboa, they gave the Puerto Rican three supposed gimme bouts in a row, the last being against Orlando Salido (38-11-2, 26 KOs), who has now beaten Lopez twice, in both the first bout and the rematch that occurred this past Saturday (Gamboa had already beaten Salido in 2010 with ease). The prospect of that lucrative bout that they were building has diminished, thus Gamboa had somewhat run out of viable foes to face, especially when you consider Top Rank’s difficulty or reluctance to make fights with other promoters.
LUCRATIVE OPPORTUNITIES LIE ELSEWHERE
It’s obvious that the Cuban clearly is unsatisfied being with Top Rank. The promotional outfit who regularly caters to the Mexican boxing fan base, doesn’t have a long-term strategy when it comes to promoting Cuban fighters. Rarely do they steer a Cuban’s career in the directions of the biggest fights possible. While I don’t think Gamboa is afraid of Rios, from a business standpoint it’s possible that other entities are involved here that can provide more lucrative opportunities from a long term perspective. Although with a lawsuit looming, for the long-term health of his career it’s possibly better for him to go in a different direction than Rios.
IF GAMBOA WASN’T CUBAN….
I believe if Gamboa wasn’t a Cuban defector, and was Mexican or Mexican-American like Rios the bout would have never been considered. Simply put, there are lucrative opportunities for the former Olympic champ if he decides to fight with another promoter, without naming any names. Is the Cuban to blame for this fight not happening? Definitely. However, I believe to put all the blame on him without knowing the details of the bigger picture is foolish. It’s obvious to me that Top Rank never did what was in his best interests, and that’s why they decided to go ahead with the bout against Rios, for they had no real intentions on advancing his career in the correct manner.
THE AFTERMATH
As a result Rios is now set to face an obscure but capable and proven lightweight in another Cuban in Richard Abril (17-2-1, 8 KOs). HBO rejected the bout and the whole April 14 card has been canceled and Top Rank, if they still intend to go on that date will have to move forward either independently or with another network.
-Kevin Perry