Major fight, recognition elude Gamboa

A not-so-funny thing happened to Yuriorkis Gamboa on his way to the big-money fight he was seeking against Juan Manuel Lopez. Promoter Bob Arum overreached, trying to squeeze another payday out of Lopez in his native Puerto Rico before committing to a featherweight title unification bout against Gamboa.

The promoter's best-laid plans went awry in April when Orlando Salido, who had just lost a decision to Gamboa, stopped Lopez in eight rounds and ruined his undefeated record. Gamboa's vision of his first major exposure since defecting from Cuba four years ago was gone.

"Yeah, I was a little bit disappointed, but I want to fight the best boxers," Gamboa said. "I guess if [Lopez] is not there, he's not one of the best ones."

Now, it's back to baby steps building his name for an American audience. Gamboa (20-0, 16 KOs) is facing two-time former champion Daniel Ponce de Leon (41-3, 34 KOs) Saturday night in the Adrian Phillips ballroom at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City. To top it off, it's a non-title bout on HBO because Gamboa gave up the IBF belt he won against Salido and then was stripped in June of his WBA belt for not following that organization's rules.

The belts hardly are the issue for Gamboa, who is on most best pound-for-pound lists and figures to overcome Ponce de Leon's experience with his combination of lightning speed, skill and power. Gamboa's popularity grows with every exposure because he has one of the most exciting styles in boxing.

That makes the lack of a major fight all the more frustrating. Speaking through an interpreter at a media dinner sponsored by Top Rank earlier this week, Gamboa expressed some annoyance with Arum, who was not in attendance.

"He didn't want to lose Juan Ma [Lopez] that quick," Gamboa said of Arum. "He wanted to make more money with him. He was going to take us both undefeated, and we would get a lot of people for pay-per-view or whatever it would be.

"I'm not mad because Juan Ma lost. I'm mad because they never gave me the value of who I am. They didn't treat me the way they were supposed to be treating me. I want them to put me where I belong. If I earned it, I want to be up there."

Lopez was the more established star who already was drawing good crowds and generating exposure. "Juan Ma was always on top of me [in recognition], but now you see," Gamboa said. "He's not in the same league with me."

Assuming he defeats Ponce de Leon, Gamboa is uncertain of where he can find a name opponent for a major show. At the moment, Gamboa is thinking of going up from the 126-pound weight class to join the lightweights at 135. But Arum also promotes Nonito Donaire, the WBC and WBO bantamweight champion, who is planning a move from 118 to 126 if he wins a title defense against Omar Narvaez Oct. 22 in the Theater at Madison Square Garden.

That would force Gamboa to wait on another Arum fighter, and he betrayed some impatience with that plan. "He's a good boxer, but I don't think he has too much recognition," Gamboa said of Donaire. "It might be a good fight [with Donaire], but it's not a big fight. I want to fight with the best."

Whichever direction Gamboa goes, he's just hoping Arum doesn't let another major fight opportunity pass. Some might say Arum was done in by Murphy's Law, but Gamboa attributed the snafu to a higher power. "It's the law of God," Gamboa said. "There are no tricks with God."