HBO Doubleheader: Gamboa vs. Salido / Peterson vs. Brandon Rios
September 11, 2010, a day for remembrance and patriotism will also be an action packed night of boxing at the Palms Resort in Las Vegas, featuring two high action, potentially fast paced title fights. In the first co-feature, Yuriorkis Gamboa, the current WBA “Regular” Featherweight Champion will be taking on Orlando Salido, the IBF Champion who stepped in to replace Gamboa’s original opponent, Elio Rojas (the WBC Champion) who suffered a shoulder injury while training. On the same card is the WBA Lightweight title eliminator featuring Anthony Peterson and Brandon Rios: two young, talented, and unbeaten fighters with bright futures ahead of them who will be sure to put on a great fight for this Las Vegas crowd.
GAMBOA Vs. SALIDO
Yuriorkis Gamboa
- 18-0 (15 KO’s)
- Guantanamo, Cuba
- Height: 5’5 ½”
- Reach: 65”
Last 5 Fights: Gamboa definitely appears to be in his prime. After winning the Interim WBA Title with a win over Jose Rojas, Gamboa has been defending his title successfully, with one-sided victories over Whyber Garcia, Rogers Mtagwa and most recently, a decision victory over Jonathan Victor Barros. With his recent performances, Gamboa is on pace to become a super champion, and unifying the WBA belt with the IBF belt would definitely help this.
Orlando Salido
- 34-10-2 (22 KO’s)
- Ciudad Obregon, Sonora, Mexico
- Height: 5’6”
- Reach: 72”
Last 5 Fights: In his most recent victory, a split decision win over Cristobal Cruz, Salido captured the IBF title and has rarely been stopped recently aside from in his first fight against Cruz. Although Salido has been solid in his recent fights, he will be facing a fighter in his prime and it may be tough for him to adjust, given the lower level caliber of fighters he’s been facing recently.
Preview: Gamboa was originally supposed to fight Elio Rojas in a WBA/WBC unification bout, but due to injury, Rojas had to back out and Salido, who had to back out of a scheduled fight in July due to cuts, will step in. Gamboa vs. Salido should be a more exciting matchup, putting puncher vs. puncher and it will be interesting to see how the up and coming Gamboa handles Salido.
Gamboa comes into this fight as the heavy favorite. His explosive power and quickness have been unmatched so far in the Featherweight division. He has been successfully defending his WBA title and looks to earn himself another belt against Salido. Salido is the much rangier and experienced fighter but will have his hands full against Gamboa.
Career Comparison: Gamboa has never been truly tested. He is reminiscent of a Featherweight Mike Tyson with a strong physique, aggressive style, and powerful punches which seem to come out of nowhere and with an acceleration that is both unmatched and unpredictable. Salido on the other hand, has not only been tested, but has been beaten 10 times in the ring and knocked out 5 times.
Both Gamboa and Salido are aggressive in the ring and pack a powerful punch. Because of this, the match up could prove to be very exciting, with Gamboa most likely pressing the action and Salido attempting to fend off the attacker with flurries of his own.
Prediction: With Salido’s hard-hitting, durable style, I could see him landing some quality shots and maybe even stunning Gamboa. But although Gamboa may temporarily get stunned a few times, he will come out on top in dominating fashion via 6th round TKO. With this win, Gamboa will unify his belt and improve his knockout ratio.
Gamboa by 6th Round TKO
PETERSON vs. RIOS
Anthony Peterson and Brandon Rios should be an equally exciting, yet much more closely contested battle of the unbeatens, with each fighter vying to become the top contender for the WBA Lightweight Title.
Anthony Peterson
- 30-0 (20 KO’s)
- Memphis, Tennessee
- Height: 5’8”
- Reach: 74”
Last 5 Fights: Peterson has been dominant in recent fights, thoroughly outclassing his opponents, mostly via TKO’s and one-sided unanimous decisions and even capturing the Interim NABF Lightweight Title with a victory over Fernando Trejo. However, he has only fought once this year and it was a March TKO victory over Juan Ramon Cruz, a fighter nowhere near the level of Rios, so his 2010 ring rust may be something to consider.
Brandon “Bam Bam” Rios
- 24-0 (18 KO’s)
- Oxnard, California
- Height: 5’9”
- Reach: 70”
Last 5 Fights: After a busy 2009 chock full of knockouts and easy victories, Rios has only fought once in 2010 (February against Jorge Luis Teron). Some of the more impressive wins include knockouts over Oscar Meza and Manuel Perez, as well as the aforementioned victory over Teron. None of these opponents are anywhere near the level of Peterson, yet Rios is looking to continue to roll through his opponents in his relentless pursuit of the WBA belt.
Similarities: Both men want to become the top WBA Lightweight Contender. Both fighters have not fought since early 2010 and will be coming into the fight completely fresh. And most importantly, both fighters have been taking on much lesser fighters over the course of the past few years. It seems as if Rios has never faced a fighter as talented as Peterson and vice versa for Peterson.
This fight will be a true test of who is ready to make their way to the top of the Lightweight Division and it will give both fighters a taste of the talent level they should be regularly facing if they want to be champions or even top contenders in this division of great opportunity.
Prediction: This will be a very entertaining fight. Both men will be coming into it feeling motivated, fresh and ready to prove themselves. In this fight, Anthony Peterson will live up to the expectations. Fans are anxious to see Peterson get tested, and fighting a young, aggressive and unbeaten fighter like Rios will allow Peterson to not only get tested, but also face a scare. In the end, Peterson will win this fight by unanimous decision, knocking Rios down in the 8th round, but Rios will win his share of rounds as well with some well-timed aggression of his own. This will put him one step closer to a title bout with the new WBA Champion, Humberto Soto.
Peterson by Unanimous Decision
So tune into HBO Boxing after Dark on September 11 to catch these two action-packed fights: With a fighter as explosive as Gamboa in a unification bout and a match up as intriguing as Peterson vs. Rios, this is a night of boxing that should not be missed!
