By Ryan Burton
BoxingScene spoke to Celestine "El Pelenchin" Caballero to get his thoughts on the recent turn of events concerning Yuriorkis Gamboa's unification bout with WBC featherweight champion Elio Rojas. BoxingScene's Rick Reeno reported that the fight was in doubt due to a shoulder injury sustained by Rojas in his training camp.
Caballero wanted to make sure the public knows that he is very interested in taking Rojas' place and fighting Gamboa on the same date. The fight is still 7 weeks away so Caballero won't have any trouble getting ready for the fight. "That won't be a problem at all. I have been in the gym training here in Las Vegas. I would love to fight Gamboa. A fight with Yuri Gamboa is a great fight. His fight fell out and El Pelenchin is here to fill in."
When asked if he thought that Top Rank and Gamboa would be willing to fight him, the Panamanian said, "To tell you the truth I don't know. If he wants to keep his HBO date I know that they will want him to fight a good fighter." I pressed Caballero, who has been an outspoken critic of Juan Manuel Lopez and Yuriorkis Gamboa's willingness to fight him and Caballero told BoxingScene, "You know I think Gamboa is willing to fight me. I don't think he (Gamboa) is afraid. I don't know why a fight hasn't been made with Gamboa previously."
I mentioned to Caballero that the public perception is that he has priced himself out of fights in the past. I relayed to him that Juan Manuel Lopez has personally told me that he didn't have any problems fighting Caballero but that Caballero always wanted astronomical amounts of money. It has been reported that Top Rank didn't originally make the Gamboa fight with Caballero over financial issues as well.
I told Caballero that this was his opportunity to explain his side of the story. "Look that is a lie. They (Lopez and Gamboa) want to make more than me. Look at my rankings. Look at the pound for pound lists. I am ranked higher than them. They shouldn't make more than me. I am willing to fight them for 50-50 (pay). Pay us equally and we can make a fight." Caballero continued, "They don't want to make just a little bit more than me. They think they deserve a lot more than me and that isn't right. That is what happened and that is why fights haven't been made between us. They are asking for million dollar purses to fight me. I just want to be paid the same as them. If they are going to make $500,000 then give me $500,000 as well. If they get $300,000 then give me $300,000."
Caballero said that he is a super champion and that he had unified titles at 122 pounds and just wants to be treated fairly. He said he wants the big fights with the big names but doesn't want to be taken advantage of either. "I want to fight Gamboa on September 11th. I am ready to fight him. All they have to do is pay me the same as him and I will sign the contract today. He is a champion and I am a super champion. I am sure the fans would love to see the fight."
When I mentioned that Gamboa was scheduled to make more than Rojas, the WBC featherweight champion, Caballero countered by saying, "That is a different situation. Rojas is a champion and I am super champion. I have unified titles and Rojas hasn't. It is a completely different situation. Pay me what Gamboa will make and on September 11th I will show the fans who the better fighter is."
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