The recent passing of a Cuban boxing legend is among the motivating factors Yuriorkis Gamboa carries into the ring this weekend.
The 2004 Olympic Gold medalist and former featherweight titlist from Cuba thrives in the role of underdog ahead of his lightweight title challenge versus unbeaten Gervonta Davis (22-0, 21KOs) this Saturday at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia. Gamboa enters the ring with a heavy heart, still mourning the loss of Jorge Hernandez, a 1976 Olympic Gold medalist and former legendary Cuban boxing coach who passed away earlier this month.
“Everyone knows what Mr. Hernandez meant to me,” Gamboa (30-2, 18KOs) said of his longtime mentor during a recent media conference call to discuss his Showtime-televised main event versus Baltimore’s Davis. “He was not only my trainer in Cuba, but he was like a second father figure to me, and his memory will always live with me. At the same time, I'm going to dedicate this fight to his memory and to his legacy.
“My training has been excellent with the same trainer [Pedro Roque] I've had who trained me for my last few bouts. I've learned to be a lot more cerebral because at the end of the day, the cerebral part of the fight is what's going to take me to victory on the night of December 28.”
Gamboa certainly comes in with plenty to prove, even in the midst of a four-fight win streak. The talented Cuban export—who turned 38 on Monday—is a long way removed from his two tours as a featherweight titlist and even his pair of interim title wins at junior lightweight and lightweight.
A June 2014 knockout loss to Terence Crawford—the first of his career—was hardly a deterrent given the level of opposition although a shocking 7th round stoppage at the hands of veteran spoiler Robinson Castellanos in May 2017 provided cause for concern. Even a Nov. 2017 nod of Jason Sosa was met with skepticism, as many considered Gamboa fortunate to have escaped with the decision.
Each of his last two wins, however, have come with a greater sense of purpose. Gamboa scored a virtual shutout of former title challenger Miguel Beltran Jr. last November and a two-round wipeout of former 130-pound titlist Roman ‘Rocky’ Martinez this past July, in the chief support to Davis’ own two-round knockout of Ricardo Nuñez in his Baltimore homecoming headliner.
From their shared bill comes their head-on collision, with Gamoba hoping to provide his boxing proud nation with a positive memory given recent setbacks. Yunier Dorticos and Erislandy Lara have managed to reclaim major titles, though in a year which has seen Luis Ortiz suffer his second knockout loss in as many fights with Deontay Wilder, Guillermo Rigondeaux have to put his bantamweight title dreams on hold until 2020 and two-time Olympic Gold medalist Robeisy Ramrez suffering a shocking loss in his pro debut earlier this year.
“This fight definitely has some great significance to me, to be representing Cuban boxing and with what's happened as of late,” notes Gamboa. “Not only with Luis Ortiz but also in prior fights where, some of my compatriots did not come through, with exception of Yunier Dorticos.
“This fight represents not only a victory for me, but it also represents a victory for Cuba, and a victory for all my people if I do come out with a victory.”
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox