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Celestino Caballero is a fighter who can?t help but have a serious sense of urgency at this point in his career. Having just recently turned 34, the interim WBA featherweight champion has been calling out the likes of Yuriorkis Gamboa, Juan Manuel Lopez and Rafael Marquez in recent years to no avail and you have to wonder how much time he has left to just keep chasing names.
Training at Floyd Mayweather?s personal gym last week, it was business as usual for Caballero and his trainer Jeff Mayweather as they prepped for another rigorous day of training without a concrete opponent lined up on the horizon. WBA featherweight champion Gamboa is someone Caballero has been dying to get a hold of and in sizing up the Cuban standout Caballero sees many advantages lying in his hands.
?I can beat Gamboa,? the Panamanian said with conviction. ?I?m tall, strong and when I put on more weight I am faster. I know he is good. I was a world champion in 2005 and I?ve seen it all. I?ve been sparring guys 160 pounds and I am ready.?
Gamboa was on pace for a September 11th clash with WBC champion Elio Rojas but the Dominican pulled out late last month, citing a shoulder injury. That left the door wide open for Caballero to step in and his promoter Lou Dibella reportedly offered Gamboa?s promoter Bob Arum a very reasonable offer yet the Top Rank CEO choose to go with IBF titlist Orlando Salido instead. Gamboa-Salido is a far less intriguing fight but Arum?s reasoning makes sense, from his end at least, as he is milking a Gamboa-Lopez clash for all it is worth. Caballero, however, is still befuddled over the developments.
?I don?t know,? Caballero said when asked how another crack at Gamboa slipped away. ?Maybe it?s their managers but I don?t know. This business is stupid. I mean who are they kidding? These people keep running from me. I don?t understand the business of boxing.?
Venting his frustrations further, Caballero harkened back to the good ol? days of Sugar Ray Leonard, Tommy Hearns, Roberto Duran and Marvin Hagler where the best all fought one another. Clenching his fists in slight anger, Caballero claimed how hungry he was for the elite fighters near his weight class and still hopes to receive his coveted shot in the future.
Moments later the Panamanian would lace up and proceed to hit the mitts with Mayweather. The two men have a budding chemistry with one another and in watching Celestino work you can see the exact danger that he possesses with his tremendous length, range and immense work rate. But Caballero is deemed simply as high-risk/low-reward at this point and will likely be dodged by those around him as long as possible.
Days after his appearance at Mayweather?s gym it was revealed that Caballero may be part of an HBO triple header on October 2nd also featuring WBC welterweight champion Andre Berto and WBO Jr. Middleweight king Sergiy Dzinziruk in separate bouts. One rumored opponent for Caballero is entertaining yet flawed Minnesota native Jason Litzau, who is coming off of a technical decision over Rocky Juarez in April. In speaking with BoxingScene?s Ryan Burton, Caballero revealed that he is all for it.
?I read about it and it sounds good to me,? Caballero stated. ?I am ready to go. That sounds like a good card and I would be happy to fight on HBO again.?
Caballero appeared on the network on April 10th when he bludgeoned Indonesia’s Daud Yordan over twelve one-sided rounds. While wishes of Gamboa or Lopez may not materialize in the near future it is at least good to know that one of the sport?s most gifted veterans still would be welcomed back to HBO with open arms. Let?s just hope that it leads to something greater soon.
