By Ryan Songalia
According to Luis DeCubas Jr., unbeaten featherweight contender Yuriorkis Gamboa will face Colombian veteran Walter Estrada on February 20 at the University Center Arena in Fort Lauderdale. The fight will be televised on ESPN2 as the main event of Friday Night Fights.
Estrada, 35-8 (24 KO), is a southpaw from Barranquilla, Colombia who challenged Scott Harrison for the WBO featherweight title in 2004. He was stopped in five rounds. His last fight, a third round knockout over 0-1 Wilber Santana, broke a three fight losing skid in a winless 2008.
"He just has to go in there and do what he has to do," DeCubas Jr. says of Gamboa. "He's getting a lot more power in each fight."
DeCubas Jr., who works as Gamboa's American promoter, feels that Gamboa is "one or two fights" away from a title shot.
"It's Ahmet Öner's call, but I think he's ready to go now."
Gamboa, 13-0 (11 KO), won a gold medal in the 2004 Olympics representing Cuba. In Gamboa's last appearance, he got off the canvas to stop Roger Gonzalez in the tenth and final round.
Ryan Songalia is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be reached at songaliaboxing@aol.com .
