Breyon Gorham spent the better part of Saturday’s 10-round junior welterweight fight trying to unlock the mystery of Yomar Alamo, an awkward, crafty, resilient opponent.
Truth be told, Gorham never really found the key, but he brought enough power and patience to the main event at the Bayou Music Center in his Houston hometown to grind out a convincing unanimous decision on scores of 99-91 (twice) and 98-92.
Alamo bounced and jerked around the ring, shifting his weight oddly and making for an unconventional, unpredictable target. He also alternated between walking down Gorham and bailing out of almost anything that rose to the level of an exchange.
The bigger fighter, Alamo took the initiative in the first round with a solid jab and several aggressive combinations. By the time Gorham sized him up and pulled the trigger for the first time, he already wore a cut on his right cheek. But that first landed punch – a slamming left hook – briefly knocked Alamo off balance and set the tone for the rest of the fight.
Gorham began to show more of his quickness and compact power in the second, working Alamo’s back against the ropes to catch him with left hooks and a big right hand before the bell.
More left hooks from Gorham landed in the third. Alamo would launch a smattering of punches here and there, often glancing off forearms and gloves, but Gorham was unbothered. He was hunting for openings and blazing hooks and right hands to Alamo’s body when he couldn’t find a home for anything up top.
“I hit him with a lot of big shots,” said the 24-year-old Gorham, 21-0 (16 KOs). “I seen it in his eyes, and I just had to keep applying the pressure.”
In the fifth, Gorham pounced on an opportunity when he trapped Alamo in a corner. Finally turning his hands loose, Gorham worked up the ladder to not only land scoring blows but also damage his opponent. It wasn’t entirely clear, though, as Alamo hung tough, made himself a hard target and stoically soaked up Gorham’s power.
In the eighth, Gorham drilled a nasty right hand into Alamo’s belly, sending his back to the ropes and, for the first time, visibly affecting his opponent. The faintest swoon from Alamo invited Gorham to windmill in with both hands, and although Gorham landed one sharp right hand, Alamo grinned and gamely fought his way off the ropes.
Alamo wasn’t pushing, though, just surviving. Gorham seemed to sense that his opponent was less and less eager to step into his wheelhouse, and he kept his foot on the gas the rest of the way without exposing himself to any unwarranted risk. His body work never completely removed the bounce from Alamo’s step, but it made him wary enough that he essentially removed himself from any realistic path to victory.
“I just had to switch it up and go to the body,” Gorham said. “You know, that’s what tears towers down. He was moving that head, but the body don’t move. I went to the body, and those were the adjustments I made.”
Alamo fell to 22-4-1 (13 KOs), which includes losses in five of his past seven outings. But his experience against Liam Paro (against whom he lost a split decision), Richardson Hitchins, Delante Johnson and Jamaine Ortiz made him a nearly ideal step-up opponent – the right man at the right time – for Gorham.
“He’s been in the ring with a lot of guys at the top,” Gorham said. “I just showed I’m one of the best guys.”
The performance should earn Gorham a ranking, but he wasn’t interested in calling out his next foe or predicting the future. He thanked his team and local fans, and true to his “Grindtime” nickname, focused on the process.
“I get better and better every training camp, every fight,” Gorham said. “This is a learning experience for me, and I’m gonna continue to grow from it.”
Jason Langendorf is the former Boxing Editor of ESPN.com, was a contributor to Ringside Seat and the Queensberry Rules, and has written about boxing for Vice, The Guardian, Chicago Sun-Times and other publications. A member of the Boxing Writers Association of America, he can be found at LinkedIn and followed on X and Bluesky.
