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GAMBOA:
Rafael's remark: Gamboa is absolutely sensational. He is an offensive machine. The 2004 Cuban Olympic gold medalist has the potential to be a superstar fighter and a pound-for-pound candidate. Although he was only in his ninth pro fight, he had 400something amateur bouts before defecting from Cuba and turning pro. His handlers at Arena Box-Promotion are moving him quickly and it's easy to see why. He can handle it. Edwards, 28, with experience against quality opponents and wins against former titleholders Freddie Norwood and Eric Aiken, was a legitimate step up for Gamboa, whose energy utterly overwhelms opponents. Gamboa, 26, blew away Edwards in just 94 seconds in a breathtaking performance in his live U.S. TV debut on ESPN2's "Friday Night Fights." He dropped Edwards 30 seconds into the fight with a left hook and ended it with a flush right to the head that dropped Edwards face first. Gamboa is scheduled to return April 11 on Showtime's "ShoBox."
DUDDY
Rafael's remark: Duddy, the darling of the thousands of Irish fans who turned out to see him, blew a June 7 shot at middleweight champ Kelly Pavlik with this terrible performance. Duddy won't be able to fight Pavlik because he suffered multiple deep cuts and will be out for awhile. He was stitched up after the fight; his face was a mess from eating hundreds of punches. He also got a gift from the judges. The 98-92 scorecards are a joke. I had Smichet winning 96-94, and I was not alone among my ringside colleagues. Consider that Smichet easily won the first two rounds, especially the first (in which he landed a frightening 52 of 108 blows, mostly clean right hands). He clearly won other rounds, as well. Bottom line is that Duddy was further exposed. He's an exciting fighter and seems like an awfully good guy, but he has no semblance of defense. Pavlik, with his awesome right hand, might have destroyed him if they had been fighting. Pavlik promoter Bob Arum and manager Cameron Dunkin were ringside and watched that potential fight go up in smoke for the time being. Arum needs to find another opponent for Pavlik in June but said he would revisit the Duddy fight for later in the year when he's healed up. Duddy has no chance if they ever meet.
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