So everyone agrees Gamboa is washed up/a cherry pick?

It's a good fight on paper but of course everyone is going to expect a blowout by Tank because of Gamboa's age and inconsistency. But then again, everyone said the same thing when Inoue fought Donaire and no one expected it to be a tough fight. I think this would be a fun, fan friendly fight for as long as it lasts before Tank figures out Gamboa. I won't count out Gamboa, though. It would be interesting to see if Gamboa can somehow turn back the clock, fight his heart out, and also give Tank a long night much like Donaire did. I'm one of the few that's actually stoked for this match up. Not sure why people are against this fight. It's a nice test for Tank and a solid name on his resume. He has that chance to say that he beat the guy who shut out Salido if he beats him convincingly. Thanks good post. why do you keep mentioning Mosley for Canelo?? no one rates that fight period..Cotto and Kovalev were far better fights then Gamboa..thats a damn joke I've seen many rate the Mosley win for Canelo as being very good...again I would be interested to know your 1-10 ratings of these guys at their peaks, and also in all those fights. You're talking about extreme fan bases that look for ways to up their fighter - all fan bases do it. Canelos win over Mosley, doesnt hold much weight at all. Vs Cotto - SOLID win. Not a great win. Aged fighter, lot of wear and tear, and 2 weight classes above his best. Don't take extreme fans opinions as anything more than home town rooting. Thanks man...good post and good reminder.

You're talking about extreme fan bases that look for ways to up their fighter - all fan bases do it. Canelos win over Mosley, doesnt hold much weight at all. Vs Cotto - SOLID win. Not a great win. Aged fighter, lot of wear and tear, and 2 weight classes above his best. Don't take extreme fans opinions as anything more than home town rooting.

Gamboa has been dropped over 12 times for crying out loud, this fight is a joke

Bro...how are you trying to act like Cotto beating the ghost of Sergio Martinez, and then a drained zombie Geale at 157 are great wins...I just don't get that logic lol. It is not a zero sum game...it is not a yes or no as to whether these are good wins...you have to look at the level of those guys around the time of those fights and then make a determination as to their levels yourself. What level would you rate Mosley, Kovalev and Cotto at their peak and at the time of those fights? Same for Gamboa? why do you keep mentioning Mosley for Canelo?? no one rates that fight period..Cotto and Kovalev were far better fights then Gamboa..thats a damn joke

It's a good fight on paper but of course everyone is going to expect a blowout by Tank because of Gamboa's age and inconsistency. But then again, everyone said the same thing when Inoue fought Donaire and no one expected it to be a tough fight. I think this would be a fun, fan friendly fight for as long as it lasts before Tank figures out Gamboa. I won't count out Gamboa, though. It would be interesting to see if Gamboa can somehow turn back the clock, fight his heart out, and also give Tank a long night much like Donaire did. I'm one of the few that's actually stoked for this match up. Not sure why people are against this fight. It's a nice test for Tank and a solid name on his resume. He has that chance to say that he beat the guy who shut out Salido if he beats him convincingly.

The problem is too many idiots on NSB try to fit the fight into a narrative before the fight so they can take credit away from a fighter. This is nauseating and becoming a real problem on this board. People forget we've seen Manny/Thurman, Korobov/Charlo, Ramirez/Zepeda and others where the underdog fought great and either won or made it a great fight. Yes, Tank is favored to win over Gamboa. We don't know how the fight will play out. Yet we have certain fans that hate PBC and like fighters for non boxing reasons already deciding the outcome simply because they are mad Tank might get a win. Too bad posters don't enjoy the sport anymore. Thanks for the reply...yeah I just don't really see how this version of Gamboa is much different than the version of those guys at that time of those fights...probably a bit lower since he was never as high as those guys...but yeah I don't really get the disparate opinions on those fights/fighters.

But Canelo's wins (or we could say some of Floyd's wins etc) over Mosley, Cotto (and even Kov) are considered great wins by many? And I'm not really not trying to pick on them here, they/their wins there are just the first ones that comes to mind. I just don't understand the logic sometimes...so beating a formerly great fighter above his best weight, when he is very old, is considered a great win and legacy defining win by some. But beating a formerly really good fighter above his best weight, when he is very old, is considered a cherry-pick and given no credit. I feel like I'm the only one on here kind of in the middle on those fights...if you can beat those guys impressively even in those circumstances, I think it is a pretty good win...but if you don't really impress there that much, well no I don't think you should get a ton of credit there. I think it is in general more impressive to beat a prime quality contender in your weight class, rather than to get a solid win over a washed up former great fighter, above the weights where he was even great. To me it is like getting a win over a 7/10 guy...vs getting a win over a guy who used to be 8.5/10, and is now 6.5-7/10. I just don't really understand the overhyping of those wins sometimes...and then why Tank (and I am not really a fan of his at all) gets a lot of sh.it for this fight...other guys have done very similar and get immense praise. The problem is too many idiots on NSB try to fit the fight into a narrative before the fight so they can take credit away from a fighter. This is nauseating and becoming a real problem on this board. People forget we've seen Manny/Thurman, Korobov/Charlo, Ramirez/Zepeda and others where the underdog fought great and either won or made it a great fight. Yes, Tank is favored to win over Gamboa. We don't know how the fight will play out. Yet we have certain fans that hate PBC and like fighters for non boxing reasons already deciding the outcome simply because they are mad Tank might get a win. Too bad posters don't enjoy the sport anymore.

Kovalev was the WBO CHAMP Cotto was LINEAL,WBC champ all when Canelo faced them Gamboa is????????????? Bro...how are you trying to act like Cotto beating the ghost of Sergio Martinez, and then a drained zombie Geale at 157 are great wins...I just don't get that logic lol. It is not a zero sum game...it is not a yes or no as to whether these are good wins...you have to look at the level of those guys around the time of those fights and then make a determination as to their levels yourself. What level would you rate Mosley, Kovalev and Cotto at their peak and at the time of those fights? Same for Gamboa?

There are 3, sometimes more, world champions floating around in each weight class these days. When was the last time Gamboa was good enough to hold one? It's a simple question. Yeah man but holding a belt is irrelevant...it is a trinket that you can buy/steal...to judge a fighter's recent level all you have to look at is who they fought and how they did in those fights. I don't think Gamboa's recent performances are all too different than Mosley's or Cotto's at that time...or even Kov's...especially considering how bad Mosley and Cotto looked after those fights...like I said if someone wants to rate Gamboa at like a 6 or so and those other 3 in the 7s, that's fine...but I don't see a huge difference there objectively speaking. But if recently having a belt is what you want to make your case on...that's fine man...you can believe whatever you want my friend. As I've said I don't really see the case that Gamboa is materially different right now than Kov, Mosley or Cotto were at the time of those fights...to be honest I don't really see the argument that they are really different levels.

Kovalev was the WBO CHAMP Cotto was LINEAL,WBC champ all when Canelo faced them Gamboa is?????????????

mosley and kovalev were clearly well past their best but they at least had top 10 wins within the last year or two. gamboa hasn't in more than 5 years and looked horrible in most his fights: sosa, reyes, williams jr. those guys were past it. gamboa is shot to pieces. like roy jones vs jeff lacy shot. roy jones won the fight i guess he's back?

You have to look at the quality of Gamboa's opponent thou and how Gamboa actually won. Sosa was one of the worst robberies in recent memory just check at the fans scorecards at eye of the ring.com, Miguel Beltran is a journeyman and Roman Martinez is shot himself and was previously inactive for about 3 years. Rating them with numbers is kinda messy but I'll try to describe them in words any way. Mosely- first ballot Hall of Fame/borderline ATG, (vs Canelo- over the hill) (vs Floyd- past prime) Cotto- no brainer HOF, vs Canelo- past prime + out of his effective weight class Kovalev- likely not a HOF, but was a top 10p4p at his prime/near prime vs Canelo- past prime Pac- True ATG, Pac/Floyd- past prime Gamboa- definitely not a HOF, top 20 p4p at his peak Current Gamboa- over the hill at least, possibly shot. past prime- on a 10 point scale, around 2 (possibly more) points lower than their prime score over the hill- around 4 points lower than their prime score shot- journeyman level/low level contender at this point, even a gatekeeper like Sadam Ali or Granados should present a tougher challenge. OK thanks for the breakdown man...I would disagree a bit on how far you drop some of those guys based on that rating system...but to each his own...I just can't really see how fighting Mosley/Kovalev/Cotto at those times is materially different than Tank fighting Gamboa...they all seem to be on very similar levels imo.

I pretty much did answer it...just not the way you wanted I suppose...and with all due respect you didn't exactly respond to my post there either. Lol no...a belt is a trinket...which may signify a guy is world class....a beltholder is more likely to be world class than the average fighting non-beltholder...but a belt by itself is absolutely not enough to tell what a guy's level is. I think Gamboa is a little worse at this point than Kov Mosley or Cotto were...Cotto had a belt because he paid for it, not because he necessarily deserved it...Mosley had no belt...if Gamboa could pay for a belt he would have one...if Cotto couldn't pay for one at MW he probably wouldn't have had one. Again this is about the level of those guys at the time of those fights - and I can't really see the argument that prime vs prime they were that different - and that those faded versions of themselves were that different either. Kov had a belt and I feel it was more or less deserved...his wins vs Yarde and Alvarez were good wins, but again I think Nelo knew what he was doing with that fight and it was a bit of a sweet pick. There are 3, sometimes more, world champions floating around in each weight class these days. When was the last time Gamboa was good enough to hold one? It's a simple question.

Give me your answers there if you don't mind...not to mention that Gamboa is on a 3 fight win streak himself...that was to your point of being capable of beating a top 10 fighter in their division...maybe he can't, he is at 135 now...but at 130 he probably could...I don't know if Cotto could have beaten a real top 10 MW on even terms though either. You have to look at the quality of Gamboa's opponent thou and how Gamboa actually won. Sosa was one of the worst robberies in recent memory just check at the fans scorecards at eye of the ring.com, Miguel Beltran is a journeyman and Roman Martinez is shot himself and was previously inactive for about 3 years. Rating them with numbers is kinda messy but I'll try to describe them in words any way. Mosely- first ballot Hall of Fame/borderline ATG, (vs Canelo- over the hill) (vs Floyd- past prime) Cotto- no brainer HOF, vs Canelo- past prime + out of his effective weight class Kovalev- likely not a HOF, but was a top 10p4p at his prime/near prime vs Canelo- past prime Pac- True ATG, Pac/Floyd- past prime Gamboa- definitely not a HOF, top 20 p4p at his peak Current Gamboa- over the hill at least, possibly shot. past prime- on a 10 point scale, around 2 (possibly more) points lower than their prime score over the hill- around 4 points lower than their prime score shot- journeyman level/low level contender at this point, even a gatekeeper like Sadam Ali or Granados should present a tougher challenge.

I think its all about perception. What you're saying is true, both are selecting choice fights. However the public perception of Gamboa is a guy with a suspect chin, who balloons up in weight between fights and the general feeling is that he was shot, even before he fought Crawford. Infact even then people were calling it a cashout fight. He hadn't fought in more than a year and was likely desperate for a pay cheque after a wild year away from the ring. This is all typified by the fact tank will likely be the hardest puncher he's ever faced...it's a name for Tank's record, i wouldn't think anybody is trying to deny that. However that isn't to say Gamboa isn't physically capable of a Donaire like resurrection! I feel like I should balance that by saying the difference is that Donaire was huge at the weight, Gamboa will be tiny because he doesn't live the life and has to now fight much larger, more dedicated guys. (Plus he's ancient by their weights standards)

It's a bs fight because after being beaten by Crawford, Gamboa has not beaten a top quality opponent and was stopped on his comeback by a guy he was supposed to easily handle. His ring activity after that loss is also in question. I am happy for Gamboa but Davis needs to take some steps forward instead of remaining in neutral an not fighting the best. They are schooling Davis, Gamboa has fast hands is explosive with some power, but they know Tank will handle him and it should be fan friendly while it lasts . Again they are schooling a top fighter and building him at the same time, they all do it, I dont see the urgency to fight the very best as soon as fans want those fights, the moment you standout above the other others the fans want you in with the best, nice thought but its not how boxing operates. All fighters have done the very same thing.

A belt is an indicator that a fighter is still world class. You didn't answer my question. When was the last time Gamboa was good enough to have a world championship belt around his waist? I pretty much did answer it...just not the way you wanted I suppose...and with all due respect you didn't exactly respond to my post there either. Lol no...a belt is a trinket...which may signify a guy is world class....a beltholder is more likely to be world class than the average fighting non-beltholder...but a belt by itself is absolutely not enough to tell what a guy's level is. I think Gamboa is a little worse at this point than Kov Mosley or Cotto were...Cotto had a belt because he paid for it, not because he necessarily deserved it...Mosley had no belt...if Gamboa could pay for a belt he would have one...if Cotto couldn't pay for one at MW he probably wouldn't have had one. Again this is about the level of those guys at the time of those fights - and I can't really see the argument that prime vs prime they were that different - and that those faded versions of themselves were that different either. Kov had a belt and I feel it was more or less deserved...his wins vs Yarde and Alvarez were good wins, but again I think Nelo knew what he was doing with that fight and it was a bit of a sweet pick.

I mean a belt by itself does not signify worthiness...also was Mosley not good enough in your opinion since he didn't have a belt? Cotto lost to Sadam Ali 2 years after Canelo...he lost to Trout 3 years before Canelo...in between Canelo, he beat Delvin Rodriguez, some guy impersonating Sergio Martinez (and paid him to take his belts), and a zombie Geale at 157...the reason Cotto had a belt at MW was because he paid for it. Gamboa doesn't have that same luxury. Kovalev has a mixed bag since the Chilemba fight...I think that fight was more a case of Canelo knowing Kov can't hurt him anymore, and he could go 12 rounds with him...and he knew Kov would fade late so a late KO was a real possibility. As I said, I give Canelo credit for getting the KO and a definitive win though...he impressed me more there than he did vs Mosley or Cotto where he couldn't really excel even against that faded version of those guys...and even taking those fights is easier for Nelo since he knows if he goes 12 and is competitive he will likely get the W...same goes for Davis though in his fight vs Gamboa. Knowing what we know about Cotto and Mosley...I don't see how you can say they were that close to their original numbers, and in that case I don't see how you can say that Gamboa isn't...again not as high of a peak, but similarly shot I think. A belt is an indicator that a fighter is still world class. You didn't answer my question. When was the last time Gamboa was good enough to have a world championship belt around his waist?

Tank is suppose to be the number 1 rated fighter he should fight for the title and stop wasting his time fighting wash up has beens

Tanks problem is the trash talking, the Twitter warring. He keeps going at all these top names on Social Media, all the fans go ooooo thats a good fight, Tank is then linked with those fighters and before you know it him or Leonard Ellerbe are being interviewed saying it will happen in the future and instead we are given something far less. Its a real let down for the fans really. Yes well said I agree