By Cliff Rold

Though the regular Featherweight titlist of the WBA has been active and dutifully made his mandatory defenses, a good sanctioning fee opportunity is rarely wasted in boxing and so it was on Friday night at Buffalo Bill's Star Arena in Primm, Nevada.  In the main event, the highly regarded 27-year old Cuban contender Yuriorkis Gamboa (15-0, 13 KO) made good on his first title opportunity, dominating 37-year old Jose Rojas (25-7-1, 17 KO) of Venezuela throughout the night before forcing a stoppage in round number ten to take the ‘interim’ WBA honors at 126 lbs.

While the bout was not often thrilling, it was an impressive win for Gamboa.  Rojas had not been stopped since 2001 and was the first man to defeat current unified Jr. Featherweight titlist Celestino Caballero in 2003, by knockout no less. 

Both men weighed in just below the division limit, Gamboa at 125 ½ and Rojas at 125. 

Wary of the previously displayed physical gifts of Gamboa, Rojas began the bout in search of distance, extending his southpaw right jab to the body.  Gamboa stayed at a distance, waiting for Rojas to get into range of his short power shots but took leather along the way, a single right hook followed later by Rojas with another and a left to the body.  Inside the second half of the round, Gamboa exploded with a lead left hook and two blazing right hands to drive Rojas from mid-ring to the ropes but Gamboa stayed with a stare at mid-ring, casually moving forward and not pressing his advantage right away.  Neither man would land anything of note as the opening frame wound down to the bell.

The action was deliberate in the second and Rojas showed veteran chops in slipping flurries from a Gamboa who wasn’t committing to the jab.  Gamboa would strike in the closing seconds near the ropes, a right uppercut snaking into the face of Rojas before the bell.

Without forcing the action, Gamboa picked his spots in the third, leaping in and out with pot shots while struggling with the range forced on him by the long right jab of Rojas.  A lead left hook and right hand landed and a body shot followed, Rojas’s feet slipping from under him on the canvas paint at center ring.  Referee Russell Mora ruled no knockdown and shortly after Gamboa was lacing Rojas with power shots along the ropes.  The Venezuelan rolled his shoulders back and forth but ended the round with a swelling beneath his right eye. 

The fourth played out at a measured pace, Gamboa landing the harder blows, and in the early going of the fifth would be favored with a knockdown call which appeared partly to be the result again of the paint at ring center.  Rojas rose right away, taking the mandatory eight after a brief argument and Gamboa would flurry with a series of hard shots before the bout settled back into as much feinting as punching.

Gamboa would hurt Rojas briefly in the final minute of the sixth, a left hand buckling the veteran’s knees but he stayed off the floor.  Again, Gamboa would rely on lead power shots, his jab only a pawing ploy.

The athleticism of Gamboa was displayed in the seventh round to the crowd’s approval.  A lead left uppercut landed from distance for Gamboa who slipped past a stumbling Rojas after the blow, bouncing about the ring on his toes.  A Rojas left to the body was countered with lightning effectiveness by the Gamboa right.  In the final thirty seconds, Rojas engaged in exchanges that allowed him to land his right but also saw him eat some heavy crosses that sent his knees wavering again.

Rojas showed off deft headwork again in the eighth, slipping a flurry of blows from Gamboa but not answering with anything to deter the younger man.  Between the eighth and ninth, his left eye all but shut, the referee began to question the Rojas corner about calling it a night but Rojas argued vehemently to continue.  He continued to battle gamely in the ninth but was taking hard shots when Gamboa engaged.

Again between rounds, Rojas insisted he could see and for another round the old man threw in vain, hoping for a hole Gamboa was not providing.  Standing at mid ring, Gamboa targeted a weaving Rojas with a lead right hand and then used a flurry of shots and some good shoulder work to push Rojas to the ropes where he landed a flush right to the face.  Rojas slipped away and backed across the ring towards another corner.  Gamboa threw and missed three blows but, electing not to wait for another power shot to land on the blinded Rojas, referee Russell Mora elected to stop the bout at 1:31 of round number ten.

“I was not only trying to be a World Champion tonight.  I was trying to show the whole world who Gamboa is,” the new titlist said of his latest victory.  “I was trying to box him.  Speed kills.  I’m a lot faster.  I moved him and set him up.  I could do whatever I wanted with the speed.” 

Looking to the future, Gamboa and his team responded positively to the idea of facing off with longtime WBA titleholder Chris John (42-0-2, 22 KO).  With the interim title of the WBA in hand, it would seem Gamboa has the inside track to face John should the Indonesian veteran, perceived by most as the best 126 lb. fighter in the world, get past a rematch with America’s Rocky Juarez over the summer.

John previously faced Rojas in 2007, losing a unanimous decision.

Pushed a full twelve rounds for only the second time in his career, 25-year old Turkish-born Welterweight Selchuk Aydin (18-0, 14 KO), 146, of Hamburg Germany, pulled out a split decision against game 29-year old veteran Said Ouali (25-3, 17 KO), 146, of Las Vegas, Nevada, in a thrilling undercard battle.

The heavy hands of Aydin controlled the first two rounds, both contested at a methodical pace as Aydin picked spots to throw combinations to the body and head.  Ouali began to show spirit in the closing seconds of the first and fired the occasional hard counter in the second before a shoving match after the bell which foretold a hotly contested third round. 

In the opening seconds, Aydin landed a pair of right hands to push Ouali towards the ropes and the Moroccan-born Ouali motioned for Aydin to come forward and hit him again.  Aydin attempted to oblige but it was Ouali who struck with a hard right uppercut and then a strong of right hooks to wobble the Turk.  Aydin shot a right hand to temper Ouali and after a brief break Ouali was back against the ropes while Aydin hooked to the ribs.  Another break in the action came at mid-ring and then they were back to the ropes, Aydin coming forward with body shots and a left uppercut and Ouali responding with the right hook.  Through the final minute, each would take their turns loading up with power blows, Aydin finishing strongest with a flurry of hard shots as Ouali covered up.

Ouali began the fourth with a pair of soft jabs before allowing himself to be walked towards the ropes again where he covered and attempted to counter the bullish Aydin before moving the battle back to the center of the ring and then circling the perimeter.  The midway point of the round saw Ouali’s head snapped upwards by the right uppercut of Aydin only for him to respond with two hard shots downstairs.  Again the final minute saw both men fighting back and forth off the ropes, each landing single hard shots behind high and tight guards.

The pattern of the bout held in the fifth and sixth with Aydin’s aggression dominating the bulk of the action as it see-sawed from mid-ring to the ropes and counters.  Ouali brought a roar from the crowd a minute into the sixth when a right hand landed and seconds later the slick ring paint and ring center saw Aydin slip to his backside.  Referee Tony Weeks quickly ruled no knockdown and Aydin returned to working Ouali over in the corner while taking enough counters to keep it interesting.

The full of the seventh and most of the first two minutes of round eight were a dominant stretch for Aydin as it appeared the body work could be preparing Ouali for a finish.  In gutsy fashion, Ouali dug in and found a string of blows with a minute to go in round eight, fighting off the ropes and trading towards the bell.  A late flurry again at the end of the ninth seemed to put Aydin on his heels but only after Aydin dished out a heavy dose of leather for most of the three minutes.

Ouali was back in the fight in a big way in the tenth.  Stepping into his jab with more authority early, he found Aydin with a series of stinging right hands.  Aydin responded when the bout moved, as it had all night, to the strands, jarring Ouali with uppercuts and hooks.

After keeping the round close, Ouali again closed strong in the eleventh, blocking as much as he could of the barrages of Aydin blows and countering with hard shots.  Realizing how close the finish line was, both men showed an extra bounce to their steps at the start to the twelfth and final round.  Still looking for a knockout on each side, it would be Ouali stunning Aydin in the final half minute, a southpaw right hook lacing Aydin before another return to the ropes and then another pair of Ouali right hooks which had Aydin backing up.  It was a nice finish but not enough on the scorecards.  A single judge scored 114-113 Ouali but was overruled at 115-112 and 116-111 for Aydin.

The card was televised live as part of Showtime’s “ShoBox” series, promoted by Arena-Box Promotions.

Cliff Rold is a member of the Ring Magazine Ratings Advisory Panel and the Boxing Writers Association of America.  He can be reached at roldboxing@hotmail.com