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By Scott Shaffer
17/05/2008
Yuriorkis Gamboa W10 Darling Jimenez... Yuriorkis Gamboa resembles a mini Mike Tyson and has a backstory that could have been lifted from a Hollywood script. In Primm, Nevada on Saturday, he didn't quite live up to his buzz as the best prospect ever, but the 2004 Olympic gold medalist delivered a ten-round beating to a very capable and motivated Darling Jimenez en route to a ten-round decision victory. The junior lightweight survived a knockdown, but the purple mess that was Jimenez's face told the story as accurately as the three scorecards, which read 97-92 (twice) and 99-91 (which seemed to ignore Jimenez's knockdown of Gamboa). Gamboa showed an almost religious aversion to keeping his hands up, relying instead on his lightning quick head movement. The tactic didn't always work, as Jimenez floored the Cuban expatriate with a right to the ear in the fourth round. Still, Gamboa's power and hand speed were more than enough to dominate Jimenez and improve to 10-0 as a pro after 400+ fights in the amateurs. Gamboa will continue to command interest with each fight, but his defense needs work. In the first real battle of his career, Jimenez showed heart we never knew he had. Now 23-3, he deserves a long rest and then another opportunity. source: hbo boxing after dark
