by David P. Greisman
It looks like a fight between Yuriorkis Gamboa and Juan Carlos Burgos could end up taking place at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.
The Nevada State Athletic Commission has received a request from SMS Promotions — the company run by rapper Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson and which includes Gamboa in its stable — to promote a card at that venue on June 8.
SMS Promotions has informed the commission that Gamboa and Burgos would be on that card, according to Keith Kizer, the commission’s executive director.
The request is on the agenda for the commission’s April 8 hearing.
This fits with a recent tweet by Steve Kim of MaxBoxing.com that Gamboa-Burgos could be aired June 8 on HBO as part of a split-site doubleheader — as light heavyweight champion Chad Dawson is scheduled to face Adonis Stevenson that night on an HBO broadcast airing out of Montreal.
Though Gamboa and Burgos both last fought at junior lightweight, this bout might end up being in the lightweight division, according to a report last week by Mark Ortega of RingTV.com.
Gamboa last fought in December, taking a unanimous decision over Michael Farenas to improve his record to 22-0 with 16 knockouts. Burgos last fought in January, fighting to a draw with 130-pound titleholder Roman Martinez. He is now 30-1-1 with 20 knockouts.
David P. Greisman is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Follow David on Twitter @fightingwords2 or send questions/comments via email at fightingwords1@gmail.com
