Terence Crawford proves he is a force in boxing in win over Yuriorkis Gamboa
For the first time in over 40 years, Omaha, Nebraska had a championship boxing match in its backyard. In front of almost 11,000 fans, excited to see their hometown favorite, Terence Crawford (24-0, 17 KO’s) did not disappoint. Crawford imposed both power and superior boxing skills over the previously undefeated Yuriorkis Gamboa (23-1, 16KO’s), stopping the Cuban star in the 9th round.
Gamboa, who had only fought twice in the last two and a half years, looked very sharp early on and appeared to be the more talented fighter for the first three rounds. That said, despite his inactivity the past few years, ring rust did not seem to be an issue. Gamboa was dominating early in the fight, forcing Crawford to switch to a southpaw stance in the 3rd round to try and slow him down. Although it did not seem to make a difference at first, Crawford stuck with the southpaw strategy and found his range and rhythm in the 4th round and never looked back.
In what was expected to be a technical boxing match, it turned into a slugfest, with Gamboa tasting the canvas in the 5th and 8th rounds before going down two more times in the 9th, bringing the Nebraska fans out of their s
eats when the fight was stopped in a very impressive knockout victory for Crawford.
The size and skill of Crawford just proved to be too much for Gamboa, whose heart was evident, but not enough to hold off the fast rising star in Terence Crawford. Once the Nebraska native settled in and found his range with the right jab, the night was over for Gamboa.
HBO ringside commentator, Roy Jones, indicated Terence Crawford (TC) is the best fighter since Marvin Hagler at switching from conventional to southpaw stances in the ring. That is impressive given he was relatively unknown to boxing fans just 15 months ago. Crawford stepped onto the seen as a fill-in against Breidis Prescott on the March 30th, 2013 undercard of Alvarado versus Rios II at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, NV. Sitting ringside for that fight, myself and many others were impressed in his victory against the veteran Prescott. Fast forward to just over a year later, and there are no questions about that performance or TC’s current talent and uprising.
What’s not to like about Crawford; he is a humble fighter with high confidence and has legitimate power to go with conventional boxing skills and the ability to switch hit. Legendary ring commentator Jim Lampley said it best; the fight was a “Star making performance of the highest order!” That said, Terence Crawford is the WBO Lightweight Champion, and one of boxing’s fastest rising stars. I doubt it takes another 42 years before Omaha, NE sees another championship fight.