Gamboa is the best of the Cubans, without a doubt

Another floyd fan that prefers Gamboa over Rigondeux. Why are these guys hopping on the exciting, explosive athlete over the technically skilled guy all of a sudden?

Rigondeaux, even Gamboa would tell you that.

Love all these flomos digging on Gamboa and bagging on Rigondeux...yet they hate on Pac and love Mayweather.

Two years ago I thought Lara was the safe pick to be a star. I thought his style translated better than Rigo's and he didn't have the same defensive issues as Gamboa. Now that Gamboa seems to have developed some discipline, he has the highest ceiling.

i agree.....

He certainly has the most flashy obvious talent, time will tell if he can parlay that into being the best long run.

Gamboa Fears Carlos Ivan !!! (the boxer in my signature) He beat him in the AM tournament and won Gold, and he has been featured on ESPN, ShoBox, and Solo Boxeo !!!

I said it a while back, and after how good he looked against Solis it reconfirms it more than ever in my eyes. Hes a bit wild and gets dropped often, but his hand speed is ridiculous when he unloads, and if he can continue to mix boxing ability with his wild speed then theres no way that Rigondeuax, Lora, Johnson, Despaigne etc can come close to matching him. I have no doubt he will be the most successful of the cuban amateurs-turned-pro around today. Although he hasn't faced the best competition, imo Luis Garcia will go the far as well, he just needs to be a bit more active.

I said it a while back, and after how good he looked against Solis it reconfirms it more than ever in my eyes. Hes a bit wild and gets dropped often, but his hand speed is ridiculous when he unloads, and if he can continue to mix boxing ability with his wild speed then theres no way that Rigondeuax, Lora, Johnson, Despaigne etc can come close to matching him. I have no doubt he will be the most successful of the cuban amateurs-turned-pro around today. Negative. Gamboa is the best of the Latinos and soon to be P4P best in the world!

Gamboa is without a doubt the most accomplished. He is definitely the most athletic too. He's looking like will be the cream of that crop. The only one who can possibly catch him is Rigondeaux though. Those are the only two who can really reach elite status.

The thing is he doesnt the luxury of 'building up', hes already 30. thats pretty old for his weight class, and when his reactions go so does the effectiveness of his style. and it wasnt just the Cordoba fight. I saw the same flaws in him against a clubfighter named Addy. when he tries to force offense, he loses a lot of his ability...hes just been fighting in his amateur style for too long. Im not impressed with his infighting either. when someone is able to lay into him and mix offense with defense, I have no doubt Rigondeaux will fall to them. Casey was mediocre, and Rigondeaux has looked good against mediocre guys in the past too.(Andrade). Gamboa has better physical gifts and has already taken steps to learn a real professional style, because he woke up after all the knockdowns hes taken. now hes finally mixing it all together. Rigondeaux will never end up being as good as Gamboa, hes already too impressed with his own style to change it. Rigondeaux has no choice but to exercise that "luxury." As you say, "He's been fighting in his amateur style for too long." Guillermo needs some time to adjust to the pros. There's just no getting around that fact. Rigo getting too old is a risk that must be taken. It's the sad choice that a formerly oppressed athlete has to make. There are few current fighters that approach Gamboa's athleticism and speed. But talent and skill aren't necessarily the same as speed and athleticism. Rigo is more skilled and more talented than Yuri. Gamboa hasn't really "taken steps to learn a real professional style." He fought essentially the same way in the amateurs, so his style was ready-made for the pros. It's one of the reasons why Yuri has adapted to his new career so well. Virtually all of his knockdowns are attributable to being off-balance. Gamboa has made the necessary improvements, with the results to show.

Rigondeaux has only eight professional fights. Can he be reasonably expected to fight elite competition at this stage? Yes, he had hundreds of amateur fights, but, as most of us agree, the ams and the pros are two different worlds. Guillermo needs to feel his way out a little before he can truly open up. I don't think he's "flawed" at all. He just needs some time to adjust. When he does, there'll be no one to "beat him up;" he's too good defensively. The fight against Cordoba was almost embarrassing. Rigo went into pure defensive mode, after going up on the cards. (A little reminiscent of Oscar versus "Tito", only a lot longer. lol) However, Rigondeaux must've been aware (or made aware) of this faux-pas and came roaring back to destroy his next opponent. Guillermo tore through Willie Casey, on Casey's home turf, in impressive fashion. The thing is he doesnt the luxury of 'building up', hes already 30. thats pretty old for his weight class, and when his reactions go so does the effectiveness of his style. and it wasnt just the Cordoba fight. I saw the same flaws in him against a clubfighter named Addy. when he tries to force offense, he loses a lot of his ability...hes just been fighting in his amateur style for too long. Im not impressed with his infighting either. when someone is able to lay into him and mix offense with defense, I have no doubt Rigondeaux will fall to them. Casey was mediocre, and Rigondeaux has looked good against mediocre guys in the past too.(Andrade). Gamboa has better physical gifts and has already taken steps to learn a real professional style, because he woke up after all the knockdowns hes taken. now hes finally mixing it all together. Rigondeaux will never end up being as good as Gamboa, hes already too impressed with his own style to change it.

Cordoba is a solid fighter and for Rigondeaux to take that in his 7th Pro fight is insane. There aren't too many guys in boxing that would fight a Cordoba that early in their pro careers. Granted, Rigondeaux is now 30 years old so he has to move fast, but I think that was a lerning experience for him. Agreed. I think fighting (and defeating) a fighter of Cordoba's quality in only your seventh pro fight indicates a willingness to move up very quickly. Is Rigo supposed to fight the very best in the division already? Come on.... Crushing Willie Casey in his next fight showed Rigo learned something: the fans want to see action!

I dont. Rigondeaux is flawed, and is too busy fighting bums to accomplish anything serious before he gets old. When Rigondeaux fights someone who can bury into him and hit him, he will be beat up and finished. I think he fights like a poor man's Floyd Mayweather. The Cordoba fight was very telling. He hits a little adversity and he goes completely defensive. Great body puncher though. Rigondeaux has only eight professional fights. Can he be reasonably expected to fight elite competition at this stage? Yes, he had hundreds of amateur fights, but, as most of us agree, the ams and the pros are two different worlds. Guillermo needs to feel his way out a little before he can truly open up. I don't think he's "flawed" at all. He just needs some time to adjust. When he does, there'll be no one to "beat him up;" he's too good defensively. The fight against Cordoba was almost embarrassing. Rigo went into pure defensive mode, after going up on the cards. (A little reminiscent of Oscar versus "Tito", only a lot longer. lol) However, Rigondeaux must've been aware (or made aware) of this faux-pas and came roaring back to destroy his next opponent. Guillermo tore through Willie Casey, on Casey's home turf, in impressive fashion.

gamboa is the most athletically gifted... not sure about the most skilled thoough

I dont. Rigondeaux is flawed, and is too busy fighting bums to accomplish anything serious before he gets old. When Rigondeaux fights someone who can bury into him and hit him, he will be beat up and finished. I think he fights like a poor man's Floyd Mayweather. The Cordoba fight was very telling. He hits a little adversity and he goes completely defensive. Great body puncher though.

I believe Rigondeaux is actually more talented than Gamboa. His skills are Mayweatheresque. Guillermo has almost supernatural reflexes, which suits his counter-punching style perfectly. That being said, Yuriorkis is much more exciting, especially to the casual fan. Given the choice, I'd rather watch a Gamboa fight every time. Of the current Cuban defectors, Gamboa and Rigondeaux are the only two of elite quality. They're truly gifted; I've said this since the beginning. Lara is a distant third. Solis might've been third, but he's allowed his potential to go down the toilet. All the others are "second-tier". I dont. Rigondeaux is flawed, and is too busy fighting bums to accomplish anything serious before he gets old. When Rigondeaux fights someone who can bury into him and hit him, he will be beat up and finished.

I believe Rigondeaux is actually more talented than Gamboa. His skills are Mayweatheresque. Guillermo has almost supernatural reflexes, which suits his counter-punching style perfectly. That being said, Yuriorkis is much more exciting, especially to the casual fan. Given the choice, I'd rather watch a Gamboa fight every time. Of the current Cuban defectors, Gamboa and Rigondeaux are the only two of elite quality. They're truly gifted; I've said this since the beginning. Lara is a distant third. Solis might've been third, but he's allowed his potential to go down the toilet. All the others are "second-tier". Johnson really impressed me with his head movement on FNF. I'm still withholding judgement until he steps up. But he looks like a really good fighter.

I said it a while back, and after how good he looked against Solis it reconfirms it more than ever in my eyes. Hes a bit wild and gets dropped often, but his hand speed is ridiculous when he unloads, and if he can continue to mix boxing ability with his wild speed then theres no way that Rigondeuax, Lora, Johnson, Despaigne etc can come close to matching him. I have no doubt he will be the most successful of the cuban amateurs-turned-pro around today. I believe Rigondeaux is actually more talented than Gamboa. His skills are Mayweatheresque. Guillermo has almost supernatural reflexes, which suits his counter-punching style perfectly. That being said, Yuriorkis is much more exciting, especially to the casual fan. Given the choice, I'd rather watch a Gamboa fight every time. Of the current Cuban defectors, Gamboa and Rigondeaux are the only two of elite quality. They're truly gifted; I've said this since the beginning. Lara is a distant third. Solis might've been third, but he's allowed his potential to go down the toilet. All the others are "second-tier".

Agreed. Gamboa is elite. Arguably the best at 126.