Expectations for Rios v Gamboa?

[Carpe Diem]

I expect Gamboa to play a cat and mouse tactic game with Rios for the first half of the fight, then i expect Rios to be more aggressive in the second half of the fight and have his moments, but i think Gamboa's speed, movement, will be too much for Rios to handle. Gamboa via close UD.

[Carpe Diem]

****. I accidentally vote for Rios to win via SD.

[RichCCFC]

I see Gamboa winning easy and everyone saying "I knew that would happen" post fight.

[zab191]

Bam Bam goona get destroyed. He might as well retire because he wont be Bam Bam-ing anyone after Gamboa

[JDezi4]

Damn I'm not excited for this... It reminds me of the would be Roy Jones/Tyson fight... Sure Roy was an amazing talent, and Tyson wasn't in his prime...

Maybe Roy could stick and move his way to a UD, but that would be the boring scenario... Just like Gamboa moving his way to a UD, but it wouldn't be worth the hype

And the thing about this fight that makes it worse, Gamboa is a featherweight moving up 2 weight classes while Rios is a 140lber that can't make 135 no more...

Rios wins, he beat a smaller guy
Gamboa wins, he beat a weight drained Rios

[CubanGuyNYC]

This is going to be a good fight. But if your definition of excitement is a brawl, you'll be disappointed. Gamboa can't go blow for blow with Rios; he'll get starched. Yuri will almost certainly keep his distance for most of the fight, but I doubt he'll "run" all night. Gamboa is too aggressive a fighter by nature to avoid engaging his opponent altogether.

Yuri will have to move effectively for a full twelve rounds. That means that his conditioning needs to be exceptional. Gamboa will also have to take a couple of nasty shots and survive. There's no way Rios won't land a single good blow in this fight. This is primarily why I give the edge to Brandon in this match. I don't think Gamboa can avoid him all night.

War Gamboa!

[Cuauhtémoc1520]

This is going to be a good fight. But if your definition of excitement is a brawl, you'll be disappointed. Gamboa can't go blow for blow with Rios; he'll get starched. Yuri will almost certainly keep his distance for most of the fight, but I doubt he'll "run" all night. Gamboa is too aggressive a fighter by nature to avoid engaging his opponent altogether.

Yuri will have to move effectively for a full twelve rounds. That means that his conditioning needs to be exceptional. Gamboa will also have to take a couple of nasty shots and survive. There's no way Rios won't land a single good blow in this fight. This is primarily why I give the edge to Brandon in this match. I don't think Gamboa can avoid him all night.

War Gamboa!

I see it the same exact way. I'm very interested to see how Gamboa reacts to the pressure that Rios is going to bring.

[garfios]

I expect a drained Rios. And if he's not drained I expect him to walk Gamboa down.

He hired a nutritionist, he should b OK no excuses... Gamboa is going up 9 pounds.

[THE REED]

This is going to be a good fight. But if your definition of excitement is a brawl, you'll be disappointed. Gamboa can't go blow for blow with Rios; he'll get starched. Yuri will almost certainly keep his distance for most of the fight, but I doubt he'll "run" all night. Gamboa is too aggressive a fighter by nature to avoid engaging his opponent altogether.

Yuri will have to move effectively for a full twelve rounds. That means that his conditioning needs to be exceptional. Gamboa will also have to take a couple of nasty shots and survive. There's no way Rios won't land a single good blow in this fight. This is primarily why I give the edge to Brandon in this match. I don't think Gamboa can avoid him all night.

War Gamboa!

Spot on...

[Left2theliver]

I'm expecting a high paced fight with both guys going at it 110%

That being said, as for who I pick, I think it really depends. The biggest difference here I see is Rios' size, strength, and power. If Gamboa's speed and power transfers well to 135, then I think he beats Rios, but if he slows down and loses his power, I think Rios beats him. REgardless, I think it would be unwise for Gamboa to go power for power, blow for blow with Rios. Imo he needs to outspeed him and use his superior athleticism as a way to win. If that doesn't carry over to 135, I think he's in trouble and in for a possible late round KO. If not, then probably a clear cut UD for Gamboa. Rios has an iron jaw, and I just can't see him getting stopped in this fight unless it was due to a cut or swelling or something like that. I think Gamboa's style of throwing a high volume of punches FAST before moving out of the way would be the best way to go about it in this fight, simply outspeeding, outworking, and outscoring Rios instead of trying to outpower him. Great fight regardless!