'Young Guns' Sling It

By JE Grant

Olympic Gold Medal winner, Yuriorkis Gamboa headlined a sneak-peak HBO card showcasing potential stars in Primm, Nev. Saturday night.

Gamboa, 10-0 (9 KOs), Miami (via Cuba), 128 1/2, used obvious raw professional talent to score a one-sided 10-round unanimous decision over solid pro Darling Jimenez, 23-2-2 (14 KOs), Dominican Republic, 131. 

Gamboa’s quick hands and feet allowed him repeatedly beat Jimenez to the punch from the opening bell.  Jimenez remained in the bout throughout, however, landing left hooks and right hands with a frequency that should give Gamboa’s handlers some pause when charting out a wanted meteoric rise to a world ranking.

Jimenez, despite losing 9 of the 10 rounds, was able to clip the hands-down Gamboa in round 4, dropping him in the process. Gamboa did not seem hurt but it was clear that his own bravado led to the knockdown.

While Gamboa has clear physical gifts, his recklessness will not bode well should he meet the elite of the 130-135 pounders. 

Scoring of the bout was all for Gamboa: Judge Raul Caiz, 97-92; Patricia Jarman, 97-92; and Dalby Shirley 99-91. JEBoxing scored the bout 98-91.

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Alfredo Angulo, 13-0 (10 KOs), Mexico, 154, stopped talented Richar Gutierrez, 24-2 (14 KOs), Colombia, 152, at 2:48 of round 5 of a scheduled 10.

Angulo, a former amateur star, used a high-volume attack punctuated with thudding right hands to the body and head of Gutierrez. He also weathered a strong 4th round attack by Gutierrez and by round’s end turned the tide.

In round 5, a series of strong combinations led to a well-timed stoppage as Gutierrez stumbled around the ring clearly stunned.

JEBoxing scored the bout 40-36 Angulo for the 4 completed rounds.

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James Kirkland, 22-0 (19 KOs), Austin, Texas, 154, knocked out former Olympian Eromosele Albert, 21-2 (10 KOs), Nigeria, 152 1/2, at 1:06 of round one of the first televised bout of the evening. 

The southpaw Kirkland attacked immediately at the bell forcing Albert to exchange. Kirkland scored the 1st of 2 knockdowns in the round before a minute had passed. Albert was disoriented from the knockdown and was quickly belted to the canvas for the second and final time. 

Referee Joe Cortez stopped the bout seeing that Albert could not continue.